KKR and Co LP, the private equity firm has submitted a bid offer of US$75 per share for industrial machine maker Gardner Denver Inc. The bid puts the value of GDI at nearly US$3.7 billion according to insiders privy to the negotiations last Thursday.

The bid puts the firm at the forefront to acquire the Wayne, PA based industrial machine maker after many other private equity bidders have pulled out of the bidding. In making the bid, KKR has also indicated that it has secured financing from banks committed to push through with the deal. Both Gardner Denver and KKR did not respond to requests for comments.

As a result, shares for the machinery company jumped to US$67.47, valuing the company at just a tad over US$3.3 billion. This high bid seems incongruent to due diligence reports from other private equity firms as to declining orders for the products of the company.