Japan's Bosch Rises Most in 34 Years on Buyout Offer (Update2)

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Bosch Corp., the Japan unit of the world's largest auto parts maker, rose the most in 34 years in Tokyo after its parent offered to buy the 40 percent of shares it doesn't already own.

Bosch Corp. rose 151 yen, or 34 percent, to close at 596 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The gain was the largest since Nov. 11, 1974.

Closely held Robert Bosch GmbH, based in Stuttgart, Germany, offered a 35 percent premium over Wednesday's closing price to make the unit a wholly owned subsidiary. Bosch Corp. has lagged behind Denso Corp., Japan's largest auto supplier, in sales growth over the last four years and its earnings have fallen for the last three years.

``Bosch's brand has not been very strong in Japan, compared with Toyota-affiliated suppliers like Denso,'' said Kazuhito Sasaki, a senior analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center Co. in Tokyo. ``Offering shareholders a premium definitely makes them happy.''

Robert Bosch offered 600 yen a share compared with Wednesday's closing price of 445 yen. The German company will spend about 612 million euros ($960 million) in cash for the acquisition, it said in a statement Wednesday.

The tender offer will begin on April 24 and close on June 19.

To contact the reporter on this story: Makiko Kitamura in Tokyo at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bret Okeson at bokeson@bloomberg.net.