Hitachi Construction Machinery, the world’s No.1 maker of mammoth excavators, has made a $528 million offer (A$689 million) to acquire Australian mining supplier Bradken Ltd.
The deal, Hitachi’s largest-ever overseas acquisition, was accepted by Bradken’s board. It follows a similar move by fellow Japanese manufacturer of mining equipment Komatsu (TYO: 6301), which decided in July to buy US-based competitor Joy Global (NYSE:JOY) in a transaction valued at $3.7 billion.
Hitachi has offered A$3.25 per share to buy the Aussie equipment supplier, it said in a note posted in its website, a 34% premium over Bradken’s closing share price on Friday.
By purchasing Bradken, Hitachi Construction Machinery aims to supplement its parts business for mining equipment and boost earnings.
Last year, Bradken rebuffed a A$428 million offer from Koch Industries Inc. and Pacific Equity Partners, because the firm believed it didn’t reflect a fair value.
The acquisition is the latest takeover in a string of outbound M&A deals by Japanese companies encouraged by a strong yen.