Auto parts supplier ArvinMeritor ends bid to take over Dana Corp.

TROY, Mich. (AP) -- Auto parts supplier ArvinMeritor Inc. has ended its takeover bid for Dana Corp. after the rival's board on Sunday rejected a recently increased $18-per-share offer.
ArvinMeritor had planned to terminate its latest offer -- its fourth -- Dec. 2 unless Dana's board of directors agreed to begin negotiating a merger agreement.
"We are disappointed that the Dana board is unwilling to sit down with us and has chosen instead to deprive Dana's shareowners of the immediate and substantial value," Larry Yost, chairman and chief executive of the Troy-based ArvinMeritor, said in a statement.
Toledo-based Dana -- ArvinMeritor's largest competitor -- sent Yost a letter informing him of the decision and approved another letter to shareholders explaining the decision.
"It is based, in part, on our belief that, as compared with achieving the objectives of our present business plan, the value being offered by ArvinMeritor -- even if it were obtainable -- is neither attractive nor compelling," the letter said.
The company also noted that ArvinMeritor has yet to show it has enough money for the offer. Dana maintains its stockholders will be better served by retaining their shares and benefiting from the company's restructuring.