FAG Kugelfischer Georg Schaefer AG's Uwe Loos urged shareholders not to sell their stock amid the INA hostile takeover until they see what the company has developed in response. "Something else will be coming in the following days and it's worth waiting for that," he said in a Bloomberg interview.

Under Germany's corporate takeover statutes, FAG has two weeks from the first offer day (September 17) to present a detailed response.

FAG shareholders apparently aren't prepared to wait. INA Holding Schaeffler KG has already acquired more than 20% of FAG's outstanding shares in the week since the hostile takeover bid was made public. INA is offering 11 Euro per share directly to shareholders from September 17 to October 22, but is aggressively buying on the open market. FAG's share price rocketed from approximately 6 Euros to almost 11 on the news of INA's bid. The price has since settled into the 10.70 to 10.80 Euro price range.

INA's CEO, Juergen Geissinger, told a German newsmagazine that he believes INA can acquire 80% to 90% of FAG's shares by the October 22 cutoff date. INA believes it needs to acquire at least 75% of FAG's shares to have complete control over all aspects of the business.

But FAG is having none of it. The company is apparently willing to go to great lengths to avoid being taken over by INA, a secretive privately-held corporation which FAG management strongly distrusts.

Mr. Loos said NTN might become FAG's "white knight" by dramatically accelerating the pace of their recently formed joint venture. He also indicated that a frequently-mentioned possible third partner may still be included. Mr. Loos, however, denied rumors that the other bearing manufacturer was the Timken Company.

FAG management has repeatedly warned workers and shareholders that INA only intends to break up or shut down much of the company.

Mr. Geissinger held a press conference on Tuesday to restate their position that INA does not plan to break up FAG, but instead incorporate it into their current operation, creating one of the world's largest bearing manufacturers. INA plans to meet on Friday with employee representatives from FAG.