A rival $17 billion bid made Monday...

A rival $17 billion bid made Monday from a North Carolina coaxial cable manufacturer to purchase Andrew Corp., the Westchester telecommunications gear manufacturer, sent Andrew's shares up more than 20 percent

CommScope Inc., the Hickory, NC manufacturer of coaxial cable, bid $17 billion in cash and shortcoming assumption, trying to ace ADC Telecommunications, the Eden Prairie, Minn., communications network infrastructure company.

ADC in succession May 31 announced it was acquiring Andrew.

CommScope said its furnish of $9.50 per share shows a 20 percent premium from one side of to the other Andrew's closing price on Friday of $789 and a 36 percent premium from one side of to the other the offer from ADC, whose shares have forfeited more than 40 percent of their value since its Andrew deal was announced.

CommScope estimates that Andrew shareholders would receive more than $400 million extra from a CommScope acquisition.

CommScope asked for a rejoinder by 4 p.m. Friday.

"We're evaluating the propound made to us [Monday morning] and will be agreeable to to it at the appropriate time," a spokesman for Andrew said. He said Andrew had not to this time scheduled a shareholders' meeting to voice on the ADC deal and had awaited the deal to close according to the end of November at the latest. ADC could not be reached for make notes

Andrew shares clos Monday at $956 up $167 or 212 percent More than 34 million shares were traded, almost a tenfold increase across the average daily trading during the last three month

ADC shares clos at $1277 up 55 cent or 45 percent ADC shares had been above $22 when ADC made its put forward for Andrew. CommScope shares clos at $2805 down $211 or 7 percent

Frank Drendel 61 chairman and chief executive of CommScope told the Sun-Times, "Andrew is an superior company. This is an issue of combining strengths" Andrew is the No. 1 provider of coaxial cable to the wireless phone companies' cellular towers, while CommScope is the No. 1 coaxial cable provider to cable companies and business offices.

Drendel 61 a native of Downstate Paxton who played football for the Northern Illinois University Huskies in the mid-1960s, said efficiencies from CommScope's patented manufacturing innovations and management methods would save about $30 million to $50 million in the first year and $70 million to $90 million in the other full year.

Drendel maintained that Andrew shareholders would benefit from a les volatile cash present from his company compared with a stock switch with ADC. He said he expectancys to close the acquisition early nearest year.

It is premature to note on the deal's potential impact in succession Andrew's work force of 950 he said.

Bank of America and Wachovia Bank have agreed to finance the acquisition, he said.

Sam Shapiro, president of Shapiro Capital, which has a 62 percent stake in Andrew, was not impressed with the propound "We would vote against the deal at this price," he said. "Andrew is worth $12 a share in cash, and on the same level that would be a cheap deal in the prolonged run."

Physicist Victor "Doc" Andrew started the company in 1937 as a consultancy in a bungalow near Midway Airport. The company mov its headquarters to Orland Park in 1960 Last year, Andrew sold its peculiarity in Orland Park to Rolling Meadows-based Kimball Hill residences for $28.5 million for residential and commercial exhibition

This year, Andrew mov its headquarters and corporate staff to the Westbrook Corporate Center in Westchester. nearest year, the company plans to stir its manufacturing operation and more than 800 employee from Orland Park to a 570,000-square-foot office and manufacturing center at the Cherry Hill Business Park in Joliet.

hwolinsky@suntimes.com

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