It appears a few variations will be written before Steinway Musical Instruments can play the final notes of a buyout deal.
The maker of Steinway & Sons pianos said on Monday that it had received an offer of $38 a share - nearly 9 percent higher than an earlier bid - from an unidentified “affiliate of an investment firm with over $15 billion under management.â€
The rival offer comes more than a month after the company announced that it had agreed to be bought by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company for $35 a share, or $438 million.
Kohlberg has the right to match the higher offer by the end of Wednesday. Steinway said its board had not changed its recommendation of the Kohlberg offer.
The agreement with Kohlberg allows for a so-called go-shop period of 45 days when Steinway can invite rival bids.
Shares of Steinway were up sharply in premarket trading on Monday.
The company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by Henry Engelhard Steinway and his three sons, is famous for its pianos, horns and other instruments that are used in concert halls and night clubs around the world.
Steinway, which is based in Waltham, Mass., is being advised by Allen & Company and the law firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
