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Lacy Diversified Industries Ltd. will become a $1 billion company and the king of after-market auto finishes if its $69 million bid for a California company is successful.
Locally based Lacy, through its controlling interest in FinishMaster Inc., has offered $8 a share for Thompson PBE Inc., FinishMaster's only sizable rival.
"In this case, it's very possible one plus one could equal three," said Walter Liptak, an analyst with Barrington Research in Chicago. "FinishMaster [will have] the No. 1 market position in North America. FinishMaster has the opportunity to do a nice consolidation of a niche market."
The purchase has been approved by Thompson's board of directors and will be presented to its 8.6 million shareholders, many of whom have already expressed support, said Andre Lacy, who is CEO of FinishMaster and LDI.
LDI, a private holding company focused on distribution, bought a 67-percent interest in publicly traded FinishMaster of Kentwood, Mich., last year.
Three months ago, it began acquisition talks with Thompson, which was...