Generac will not acquire Briggs & Stratton

Generac Power Systems, based in Waukesha, Wisconsin in the US, has withdrawn its previously expressed interest in bidding on another Wisconsin-based stalwart, Briggs & Stratton Corp.

Generac, maker of portable worksite equipment including generators and light towers, competes with veteran engine-turned-light-equipment manufacturer Briggs on some product lines. 

According to reports in the Milwaukee Business Journal, the company did not submit a bid by the deadline of 28 August, after indicating an intention to do so in mid-August.

It was also reported that no other prospective buyers submitted qualified bids by the deadline, and Briggs will now likely be sold to baseline bidder KPS Capital Partners, a global private equity firm, at US$550 million for nearly all of Briggs & Stratton’s assets.

The Business Journal reports that a hearing on the sale was scheduled for 15 September and an attorney for the official unsecured creditors committee said the committee will challenge the proposed sale.

Tom Hayes, an analyst with Northeast Research in Cleveland, Ohio in the US told the news outlet that it’s possible Generac wasn’t interested in all of Briggs’ assets.