Japan's Brother Industries Ltd will buy British barcode-printer maker Domino Printing Sciences Plc for about 1.03 billion pounds in cash ($1.55 billion) to expand its industrial printing range, the companies said. Domino, which is fighting bigger rivals with enhanced financial firepower, said its shareholders will get 915 pence per share, a 27 percent premium to the stock's Tuesday close. "There's also potential for a rival bid to come in, probably from a U.S. player, given how neatly Domino would fit into a U.S. portfolio given that's where it is weaker," Peel Hunt analyst Henry Carver told Reuters. Some analysts named Danaher Corp and Dover Corp as possible bidders. Domino's products had been leading the digital label printing market in certain areas, and a rival bid wouldn't be surprising, said UBS analyst Robbie Capp in a note. Brother Industries plans to finance the deal through debt or existing cash. It has a bridge facility with Citibank and Citibank Japan under which 1.073 billion pounds would be available for financing the acquisition.
