UPDATE 2-GXO outbids CEVA Logistics in battle for UK’s Wincanton

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GXO bid about 26% higher than recommended offer from CEVA

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Wincanton declines to comment; shares rise 19%

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GXO offer 605p per share

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By Yadarisa Shabong

Feb 29 (Reuters) – U.S.-based warehousing firm GXO Logistics on Thursday offered to buy UK peer Wincanton for about 762 million pounds ($965 million), topping an offer by CEVA Logistics.

The offer of 605 pence per share is about 26% higher than CEVA’s offer of 480p.

Wincanton’s shares jumped as much as 19.6% to a record high of 609 pence, indicating that investors may be hoping for a higher bid.

Wincanton, which had recommended CEVA’s “increased and final” offer on Monday, declined to comment on the GXO offer. On Monday, it had said it would “carefully consider” any proposal from GXO.

GXO’s bid underscores its interest to expand into the UK’s aerospace, utilities, industrial and healthcare sectors with Wincanton able to give it a “springboard” to offer industrial services across Europe, GXO said.

GXO operates in almost 30 countries from about 970 warehouse locations and has a large exposure to the aerospace and defence sectors in the U.S..

This is not the first time that GXO has set its sights on Britain. Two years ago, it bought Clipper Logistics for around $1.3 billion.

Wincanton operates from about 160 locations and beyond its industrial clients is involved in e-commerce, groceries and non-food retail with customers including supermarket operators Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda.

GXO said its offer had the binding support of Wincanton’s shareholders that hold about 34% of the company.

That support will no longer be binding if Wincanton draws a competing offer of more than 695 pence.

($1 = 0.7900 pounds) (Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; editing by Savio D’Souza and Jason Neely)

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