REGION

REGION
Companies competeto be Republic buyer
CLEVELAND -- Two investment companies are trying to beat the first bidder in the push to become the preferred buyer for bankrupt steelmaker Republic Engineered Products.
Stark Investments of St. Francis, Wis., and Sun Capital Partners of Boca Raton, Fla., have joined Perry Strategic Capital in trying to become the lead company in the bidding for Republic, based in the Akron suburb of Fairlawn.
The lead bidder has the advantage of structuring the buyout deal and setting the price others would have to beat.
Republic will notify a bankruptcy judge Tuesday which bidder it prefers.
"We now have three parties that have come forth and said, 'We want to buy the assets of Republic Engineered Products,'" said Republic spokesman John Willoughby. "It's flattering and a sign of the strength of the company."
The steelmaker had been reviewing a $225 million offer from Perry Strategic Capital, an arm of the New York-based private investment company Perry Capital.
Officials at Stark Investments and Sun Capital Partners could not be reached.
Associated Press