Garmin goes for Raymarine

Raymarine urged shareholders to take no action yesterday after its giant American rival Garmin tabled a bid, saying it would pay 15p a share cash for the debt-laden marine equipment manufacturer.

Raymarine's stock jumped 135 per cent to 14p in response to the approach, which is subject to approval by competition authorities. Raymarine, however, said it is in advanced talks with a third party regarding a sale of its holding company. It has previously said that an offer from its direct competitor was likely to be blocked by competition authorities.