The original private equity suitor in an ongoing bidding war for Santa Ana’s MSC.Software Corp. upped its offer on Thursday.
Palo Alto-based private equity firm Symphony Technology Group LLC upped its offer to match the most recent counter bid of $361 million, the company said in a statement.
The counter bid was made by an undisclosed group of private equity firms on Tuesday.
In July, Symphony offered $338 million to buy MSC. The two companies entered an acquisition agreement that didn’t get finalized.
MSC was able to nullify the agreement when it received a higher competing offer a few weeks ago.
Last week, Symphony raised its offer to $354 million, matching an initial counter offer by the undisclosed private equity group.
Symphony and the unnamed private equity players now are enmeshed in a bidding war for MSC, which makes simulation software used to design prototypes for the military, aerospace and industrial uses.
MSC’s board plans to review the dueling offers along with advisers and lawyers.
The company said in a statement it is “carefully considering the Symphony revised offer and the third-party offer.”
The company didn’t say when it would announce its decision.
At that time, the company presumably will disclose the names of the firms behind the counter offer.
Shares of MSC closed flat on a market value of about $364 million as the latest offers match a run-up seen since Symphony’s first offer a few months ago.
