Gardner Denver Soars on KKR's $75/Share Buyout Bid

Shares of industrial machinery and parts maker Gardner Denver

are soaring by more than five percent in Thursday's after-hours session on reports that private equity firm KKR has offered $75 a share to acquire the Pennsylvania-based company. The news was originally reported by Bloomberg,

. Gardner Denver announced in October it was working with Goldman Sachs

to find a buyer. News of the deal comes a day after reports that two potential bidders had walked away from talks with Gardner Denver. Talks between Garnder Denver and industrial firm SPX Corp.

were scrapped in December. Earlier Maxim Group downgraded shares of Gardner Denver to Hold from Buy ahead of the looming takeover deadline set by the firm. "With fewer bidders left in the mix, we believe the chance for an acquisition to materialize is dwindling and, at current stock levels, the risk/reward trade-off is no longer warranted,"

. At $75 a share, KKR's offer is well below the $85 per share SPX was rumored to have offered, but the KKR offer is still an 11.1 percent premium to where Gardner Denver closed on Thursday.