Siemens to offer $6. 1 bln for dresser rand: magazine

A worker installs components at the base of a wind turbine blade at the Siemens AG turbine blade plant in Fort Madison, Iowa. Timothy Fadek | Bloomberg | Getty Images Germany's Siemens

plans to offer more than $6.1 billion, or $80 per share, for U.S. compressor and turbine maker Dresser-Rand, Germany's _Manager Magazin_ said on Friday. Germany's Siemens is

considering a bid for compressor and turbine maker Dresser-Rand that could potentially derail a merger between Dresser-Rand and Swiss pump maker Sulzer, according to several media reports on

Friday. _The Financial Times_ and Bloomberg reported that Siemens' supervisory board may vote on whether to table a bid at a meeting next week, with Bloomberg citing an offer of more

than $85 a share. Siemens declined to comment. Dresser-Rand shares closed on Thursday at $73 and were indicated up 13.4 percent at $82.5 in premarket trade. (Get the latest quote here.)

Shares in Sulzer, whose chairman is former Siemens CEO Peter Loescher, were trading down 3.7 percent on fears a move from Siemens could derail its plans for a potential merger with

Dresser-Rand. Sulzer said on Wednesday it was in non-exclusive talks with Dresser-Rand. Germany's _Manager Magazin_ first reported on Friday that Siemens could offer more than $6.1

billion, or $80 per share, for Dresser-Rand. Dresser-Rand has been rumored as a takeover target for large industrial companies such as Siemens in recent months. While Siemens has been

working with advisers to assess a potential bid for years, it has not made a takeover offer for the company, people familiar with the matter said. Sulzer, and other suppliers of pumps and

valves for mining, oil and construction firms are considered ripe for consolidation. Scotland's Weir Group, for example, tried to buy rival Metso but the deal fell apart over price. A

merger with Sulzer would combine Dresser-Rand's compressors and turbines serving the oil and gas industry with Sulzer's industrial pumps, giving the enlarged group a bigger

footprint at a time when a North American drilling boom is boosting demand for energy services and equipment. —_By Reuters_