Veritas Capital wins backing for UK's Bodycote with $2.5 billion offer

Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S.-based private equity firm Veritas Capital agreed on Tuesday to buy British thermal processing services company Bodycote in a £1.85 billion ($2.51 billion) deal, including debt, outbidding rival suitor CVC.

Bodycote said it would back Veritas Capital's sweetened 940 pence per share bid comprising 932.8 pence in cash plus a 7.2 pence interim dividend, which represents a 34.5% premium to its closing price before takeover speculation first emerged in May.

Veritas and CVC have been vying for Bodycote, submitting proposals of around 914 pence and 915 pence per share respectively in August, just two months after U.S. investment firm Apollo walked away from its own £1.52 billion proposal for the company.

CVC is considering its position in regard to the deal and will update the market when appropriate, it said in a separate statement.

Bodycote shares surged past the offer price and rose as much as 4.8% to 957 pence by 0925 GMT, their highest since September 2021.

Veritas, which manages about $54 billion in assets and has completed more than 145 acquisitions since its founding in 1992, said Bodycote's exposure to aerospace, defence and performance industrial markets aligned closely with its existing portfolio, which includes aeroengine technology firm Chromalloy.

The interest in Bodycote reflects a wider trend where foreign buyers, particularly private equity firms, are targeting UK-listed companies.

Analysts have pointed to a "UK discount," where British stocks trade at lower multiples than their U.S. and European counterparts, partly due to Brexit's economic impact and a weaker pound, making them attractive takeover targets.

The latest examples include a $7.7 billion takeover of British budget carrier easyJet by Apollo agreed in early August, and a $1.46 billion acquisition of telecoms firm Gamma Communications by London-based private equity firm Epiris, announced on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Norway's DNO agreed to buy UK-listed Capricorn Energy for $396 million.

($1 = 0.7383 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Amna Mariyam in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Tomasz Janowski)