MANITOWOC Co, the biggest ice-machine maker in the US, raised its bid for Enodis Plc to 1.08 billion pounds (US$2.11 billion), topping Illinois Tool Works Inc's offer for the UK supplier of fryers and warmers.

Manitowoc offered 294 pence in cash for each Enodis share, the Wisconsin-based company said yesterday. That's more than double London-based Enodis's closing price on April 8, the day before Manitowoc first made an approach, and 5 percent higher than Illinois Tool's agreed proposal.

Enodis, which supplies fast-food chains McDonald's Corp and KFC, would quadruple Manitowoc's annual food-equipment sales to more than US$2 billion, placing it ahead of current industry leader Illinois Tool. Adding hot-food appliances and customers in Europe and Asia would also reduce Manitowoc's dependence on cranes as US building slows. Cranes account for 81 percent of its sales.

"I wasn't expecting this, but then I wasn't expecting Illinois Tool to trump Manitowoc's original offer," Arbuthnot Securities analyst Michael Blogg told Bloomberg News. "Enodis has strategic attractions for both of them. Enodis would bulk up their food service equipment businesses in a way that they can't do with any other acquisition I can see."

Enodis, rated "neutral" at Arbuthnot, gained 6.75 pence, or 2.3 percent, to 304.75 pence in London trading, boosting its market value to 1.12 billion pounds.

Glenview-based Illinois Tool, which agreed to buy the company for 280 pence a share on May 8, is considering its position and will make a further announcement in due course, it said in response. Richard Mountain, an external spokesman for Enodis at Financial Dynamics, declined to comment.

The clash between Manitowoc and Illinois Tool reignites a bidding contest over Enodis that took place in 2006, when three failed approaches were made. Manitowoc, named after its home town, dropped an approach then because of antitrust concerns about overlap in ice machines. Middleby Corp and Aga were also involved in the battle that year. The UK company's brands include Lincoln ovens, and McDonald's last month selected Enodis's Garland-brand double-sided grills for its restaurants.

First-half profit plunged 44 percent after cutting jobs and revamping some European and Asian units.

Manitowoc's latest offer is 1.35 times Enodis's annual sales of 804 million pounds.