A. Finkl & Sons Co. of Chicago plans to expand in tool and die steels by acquiring Sorel Forge Inc.
Finkl presented Sorel owner Slater Steel Inc. with a higher- priced offer than the previous bidder, Tricap Restructuring Fund. Slater of Toronto is bankrupt and trying to sell the Sorel business.
Slater sought court approval for the Finkl offer March 1.
Finkl will run Sorel as an independent business with current management, said Finkl President and Chief Financial Officer Joseph Curci. He said the two companies have similar operations but privately held Finkl, with annual sales of about US$80 million, is about twice as large as Sorel.
Sorel, based in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, employs about 270. It can make mold blocks weighing up to 55,000 pounds for plastic injection molds. Finkl can make similar mold blocks up to 125,000 pounds, Curci said by telephone.
Slater will pay Tricap a C$1.2 million (US$900,000 ) breakup fee as a result of terminating its sales agreement with Tricap.
