AUTO PARTS Supplier outlines plan for takeover

A Toledo company continues to say that the takeover offer is inadequate.
DETROIT (AP) -- Automotive supplier ArvinMeritor Inc. has submitted details of its $2.2 billion hostile takeover bid of rival Dana Corp. to federal regulators.
ArvinMeritor, the Troy, Mich.-based supplier of shocks, struts, suspensions and exhaust systems, filed documents Friday outlining its plan with the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department.
The company last month launched a tender offer of $15 a share in cash for all outstanding shares of Toledo-based Dana, its larger competitor. The tender offer is set to expire at midnight Thursday.
ArvinMeritor has said it believes the marriage makes sense in an increasingly competitive and global automotive supplier business. Dana's board of directors, however, rejected the proposal, saying it was financially inadequate and a high-risk proposition.
Questioned deal
Dana also has questioned whether the proposed deal will garner regulatory approval because of overlaps in business at the two companies.
"Dana continues to believe that ArvinMeritor's merger proposal raises serious antitrust issues," the company said in a statement Sunday. "Investors have no reason to expect that ArvinMeritor can follow through on its promises without further explicit detail on how it will address this antitrust problem."
The takeover bid, launched July 9, has prompted the companies to sue each other.
Earlier this month, Dana sued ArvinMeritor and accused the rival of using sensitive information in the current bid that it obtained when the two companies discussed a joint venture two years ago.
ArvinMeritor has accused Dana of making "material misrepresentations" in a filing explaining its rationale for rejecting the takeover bid.
Dana, based in Toledo, also has raised questions about ArvinMeritor's ability to finance the deal.
ArvinMeritor's response: "Dana's board of directors and management continue to manufacture roadblocks to a combination of Dana and ArvinMeritor in an effort to further entrench themselves at Dana's shareowners' expense."
Dana shares have been trading above the offered price, leading to speculation that ArvinMeritor may need to raise its offer.