£2.2bn Japanese bid for Pilkington likely to be accepted

Nippon Glass is hoping that its third attempt to buy British firm Pilkington will be successful after raising its offer to £2.2bn. Nippon, which already has a 20% stake in the Merseyside-based firm, has been rebuffed twice, the first time in November 2005. Experts expect Pilkington chairman Nigel Rudd to endorse the latest offer.

Nippon Glass is the second largest supplier of glass to the automotive industry in Japan, while Pilkington's strengths lie in the European and North American markets. The Japanese firm has a 3% share of the global glass market, compared with Pilkington's 15%. It is believed that Nippon has the backing of Japanese trading house Sumitomo to finance the takeover.