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MILWAUKEE – Rumors of a takeover bid by a private equity firm caused shares of Harley-Davidson to climb dramatically on Friday, rising nearly 20 percent to close at $54.25.
New York-based KKR & Co. is according to several published reports, willing to pay $65 per share to acquire Harley-Davidson.
The Milwaukee “Journal Sentinel” reports KKR is the firm that purchased RJR Nabisco for $25 billion in 1989 and inspired the book and movie “Barbarians at the Gate.”
Some 23 million shares of the motorcycle manufacturer traded on Friday, more than 10 times the one-day average. The stock shot up 19.76 percent, its best one-day performance since it rose 20.5 percent on March 18, 2009.
The business website The Fly said neither Harley-Davidson not KKR would comment “rumors” or “speculation.”
The “Journal Sentinel” reports that Harley-Davidson “could not be taken over without the approval of the company’s board of directors and shareholders, and that would not come easily.”
