Senior PLC (LSE:SNR), the aerospace and defence engineer, saw its shares surge 18% to 304.5p on Friday after the company disclosed it had received multiple takeover approaches and was in ongoing discussions with potential buyers.
The company said it had received a total of five preliminary cash proposals, the first of which arrived in January and was unanimously rejected by the board as fundamentally undervaluing the business.
Two further bids from the same party followed in February, both of which were also turned down.
Senior subsequently appointed investment banks Lazard and Jefferies to canvas a limited number of third parties about a possible acquisition of the entire company.
That process has now generated two additional all-cash proposals from separate potential offerors, which the board described as superior to the earlier approaches.
The company said discussions with potential offerors were continuing, but cautioned that there was no certainty a formal offer would be made or that any deal would be concluded.
In a separate development, Senior said it was postponing the start of a £40 million share buyback programme that had been due to begin following the publication of its full-year results, citing its regulatory obligations while takeover talks remain live.
Under Takeover Panel rules, Senior is now formally in an offer period, triggering dealing disclosure requirements for shareholders and those acquiring interests in the company's shares.
The Panel has granted the company a dispensation from naming any of the potential offerors publicly unless they are identified through external rumour or speculation.