CEO Bill Galvin confirmed in an email to employees that a second party is interested in buying the electrical and security products distributor.

Security and electrical products distributor Anixter — which announced Oct. 29 that it had agreed to be privately acquired for $3.8 billion by investment firm Clayton, Dublier & Rice (CD&R) — is apparently still considering potential alternative suitors.

THe transaction will make Anixter a private company.

In an email to employees shared in an 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed Dec. 4, Anixter president and CEO Bill Galvin said there “was a go-shop period” where the company could solicit potential interested parties to come forward and make a superior proposal to purchase Aniter. And during that time, the company indeed received interest from another party.

Galvin didn’t disclose the name of the second party, but said that Anixter is engaged in continuing discussions with them.

“We cannot guarantee that the discussions will result in a superior proposal,” Galvin said in the email. “At this time, we still have a signed agreement in place with CD&R and are working to consummate the transaction under that agreement.”

Galvin noted that CD&R has raised its purchase price by $1.50 per share to a current offer of $82.50 per share. He acknowledged that the news of the second potential buyer may create some internal and external speculation and stressed the importance of the company speaking “with one Anixter voice.”

We weren’t looking to go private," he said. "We were running the company as a public company and we’re prepared to do that. We’ve been very public about what our strategy is long-term and we were approached by a company that we felt was a serious — seriously interested in our company. And of course, it’s our responsibility, our fiduciary responsibility to consider serious companies. And that is how we started in this venture.”

In 2014, Glenview-based Anixter was trying to sell itself for as much as $115 a share, but potential buyers balked at the price, Bloomberg reported at the time, citing people familiar with the situation.

The deal requires approval by shareholders as well as regulators. The company said certain shareholders, including longtime Chairman San Zell, have agreed to support the merger.

However, the merger agreement allows Anixter’s board to solicit a better merger proposal from someone else through Dec. 9, and the board plans to do so. Anixter would have to pay a $45 million breakup fee if it passes on the deal announced Wednesday.

William Anixter and his brother, Alan, started Anixter Bros. in 1957. Each pitched in $5,000 that they borrowed in part from their mother, Zelda. The firm went public in 1967 and by 1982, sales exceeded $500 million. The company had a broad reach as the leading nationwide independent distributor of wire and cable.

In 1986, with Anixter Bros. generating more than $700 million in sales, the brothers decided to sell the company to Zell’s Chicago-based Itel Corp., which later changed its name to Anixter and then to Anixter International.

Glenview, IL-based Anixter was a mainstay on Industrial Distribution's annual Big 50 List until selling off its OEM Fasteners division in 2015. The company describes itself as a global distributor of network & security solutions, electrical & electronic solutions and utility power solutions. The company stated Oct. 29 that it has approximately 130,000 customers; nearly 600,000 products; more than $1.0 billion in inventory; 316 warehouse/branch locations with more than 9.0 million square feet of space; and locations in more than 300 cities and approximately 50 countries.

www.chinaFastenerinfo.net