INA Holding Schaeffler KG (Herzogenaurach, Germany) announced it has acquired more than 10% of the outstanding shares of FAG Kugelfischer Georg Schaefer AG (Schweinfurt, Germany).

The company took out advertisements in the Boersen-Zeitung trumpeting that it had bought 3.74 million shares of FAG over the counter at prices ranging from 10.30 Euros to 10.75 Euros. INA went on to claim it has since acquired more than 10% of FAG's shares.

INA publicly offered 11 Euros per share to FAG shareholders who tender their shares directly to INA. The company's purchases to date have been on the open market; the public direct tender offer opens Monday, September 17, 2001 and runs through October 22, 2001.

When INA's bid became public, FAG shares rocketed immediately from approximately 6 Euros to a new 52-week high just short of 11 Euros.

FAG's largest individual shareholder, Fritz Schaefer, publicly urged other shareholders to follow management's instructions and not sell their shares at such a low price which he called, "inappropriate."

A FAG spokesman said about 70% of the company's shareholders are individuals who live in the Schweinfurt area.

The newspaper Handelsblatt reported that FAG is working hard to avoid an INA takeover, perhaps by moving closer to NTN or even taking on a new partner such as Timken.