Second bidder wants to buy Welbilt
June 1, 2021 - Ali Holding, an Italian company with North American operations in Chicago, has offered $23 a share in cash to buy Welbilt, a commercial food equipment manufacturer in New Port Richey. Ali Holding is the second bidder for Welbilt. In April, Middleby Corp., an Elgin, Illinois food service equipment company, proposed an all-stock deal in which Welbilt shareholders would receive 0.1240 shares of Middleby common stock for each share of Welbilt common stock they own. Ali Holding said in a news release that its proposal represents a premium of about 13.9 percent to the implied value of the Middleby transaction as of May 24. The company said it has substantial cash on hand and has received a "highly confident letter" from Goldman Sachs International for new financing to fund the proposed transaction. Welbilt (NYSE: WBT) is one of the larger publicly traded companies headquartered in the area, with $1.15 billion in net sales in 2020.