Reports: Siemens Mulls Floating $80/Share Bid For Dresser-Rand

(RTTNews) - German conglomerate Siemens AG (SIEGY, SMAWF) is looking to float a bid for US machinery company Dresser-Rand Group, Inc. (DRC) of $80 per share or in excess of $6.1 billion, according to a report in Germany's Manager Magazin on Friday.

The news on a potential bid from Siemens has sent Dresser-Rand shares soaring nearly 12 percent in early deals on Friday.

The reported moved comes after Swiss pump maker Sulzer AG (SULZF) confirmed Wednesday that it is in non-exclusive discussions with Dresser-Rand about a potential stock-for-stock merger. Sulzer has a market capitalization of about $4.5 billion, while Dresser-Rand is a little larger with a market valuation of about $5.6 billion,

Speculation about a bid from Siemens has been doing the rounds for the past one month, but it is now hurrying the bid as Sulzer has already begun talks. Siemens has been working with financial advisers to explore a potential deal with Dresser-Rand.

Houston-based Dresser-Rand, the maker of compressors and turbines for the oil and gas industry, had reportedly retained Morgan Stanley (MS) in August to assist in evaluating possible takeover bids.

DRC closed Thursday's regular trading session at $73.03, down $1.70 on a volume of 3.05 million shares. However, the stock is soaring $8.67 or 11.87% in pre-market trading on Friday.