Aga Rangemaster gets new takeover offer from Whirlpool

Cooker manufacturer Aga Rangemaster has received a takeover approach from a second US firm, in a move that could spark a bidding war.

The company confirmed it had received an approach from white goods manufacturer Whirlpool regarding a possible cash offer.

In July, Aga announced it had accepted a takeover offer from US firm Middleby in a deal valued at £129m.

Aga said there was no certainty an offer from Whirlpool would be made.

Whirlpool confirmed it was considering an offer for the oven maker in a separate statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Aga said it would continue with the timetable set out with Middleby as part of the original deal and upheld its recommendation to shareholders to accept the offer from the US firm.

It said it would hold discussions with the UK's Takeover Panel to set a deadline by which Whirlpool must announce a clear intention to make a formal offer or withdraw from the process.

A shareholder meeting, scheduled for 8 September to consider the Middleby offer, will go ahead as planned, Aga said.

An announcement on whether to accept the original Middleby offer is expected about a week later.

At the time the original deal was announced in July, Middleby said it planned to keep Aga's manufacturing in the UK.

Aga said the deal would help increase sales of its brands in North America, while the UK firm would offer Middleby a "European platform".

In March, Aga reported a fall in 2013 annual profits to £1.1m from £1.7m the year before.

Pension costs and shop closures were blamed for the fall. However, sales of Aga cookers were up 10% from the previous year.

The first Aga oven was designed by Swedish Nobel Prize-winning physicist Gustaf Dalen in 1922 and production started in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire in 1930.

Aga ovens have become considered by many to be the heart of a British country kitchen lifestyle.