Higher Bid for TransMontaigne

TransMontaigne(TMG), an oil and gas supply-chain company, on Friday accepted SemGroup's $10.75-a-share takeover offer, as a bidding battle with Morgan Stanley(MS) continues to drive up the price.

TransMontaigne has been at the center of bidding between privately held oil-transportation firm SemGroup and Wall Street brokerage Morgan Stanley since late March, when Morgan Stanley offered $8.50 a share for the company. A week later, SemGroup offered $9.75. TransMontaigne, a company with oil-storage tanks along the Mississippi, is viewed as an oil and real estate investment, and the value of the company has spiked as oil prices rise.

SemGroup's $10.75-per-share offer is a dollar higher than its original offer for the company. Earlier this week, TransMontaigne said that it was prepared to accept Morgan Stanley's $10.50-per-share offer, which came two weeks ago.

Morgan Stanley's interest in TransMontaigne comes after a string of Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs(GS) and Merrill Lynch(MER), reported record earnings in the first quarter, with commodities and energy trading contributing big portions. After Morgan Stanley put forward its $10.50-per-share bid, some investors speculated that other Wall Street firms might join the fray.

TransMontaigne stock has increased almost 13%, moving above the offer price to a recent high of $11.27. It's a significant run for shares that cost $6.60 at the start of the year.

Shares in TransMontaigne were up 0.3%, or 3 cents, to $10.95 in trading Friday.

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