Paulson Said to Have Bumped Steinway Bid to Trump Rival Samick

Paulson & Co. raised its offer for Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. after the 160-year-old piano maker got a competing bid from South Korea’s Samick Musical Instruments Co., said three people familiar with the process.

Samick bid $39 a share for Waltham, Massachusetts-based Steinway, prompting hedge-fund firm Paulson to go to $40, or about $512 million, according to one person, who asked not to be named because the deliberations were private. Steinway, which had previously agreed to be taken over by Kohlberg & Co., announced today that it would accept the Paulson bid.