Apollo Raises EGL Bid

EGL (EAGL Quote) said an Apollo Management affiliate upped its bid for the company to $47.50 a share, moving back in front of a rival group led by CEO Jim Crane.

EGL said the Apollo group, a U.K. entity called Ceva, also agreed to cut the termination fee payable to it to $20 million from $30 million under certain circumstances. Ceva said it will pay EGL, a Houston-based logistics firm, $40 million if it can't get financing and $60 million if it breaches merger terms.

A special panel of EGL's board said it determined the latest bid by Ceva is superior to the latest Crane proposal.

The news comes just three days after Crane, the CEO who has been trying to take EGL private throughout this year, made the latest increase in his offer. He bid $46.25 for EGL on Friday, trumping a $46-a-share bid from Ceva. Crane had earlier bid $38 a share for EGL before the rival bidder emerged.