Finland's Uponor says Aliaxis bid attracting rival interest

By Louise Rasmussen and Elviira Luoma

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -An unsolicited bid for plumbing and heating systems maker Uponor by Belgium's Aliaxis has drawn the attention of other potential bidders, a board member at the Finnish group said.

Water management group Aliaxis on Monday made an all-cash offer for Uponor worth 1.87 billion euros ($2.06 billion), a 3% increase over the Belgian group's initial bid last month.

Uponor has rejected both offers, arguing they were insufficient, even as Aliaxis has bought a 20% stake in the company.

"It's a question of value. It's a question of maximizing shareholder value. Maximizing the wealth of Uponor's owners," said Hans Sohlstrom, an Uponor board member who leads the Finnish group's response to the Aliaxis bid.

The Belgian bids had attracted widespread attention, he added.

"Practically everyone globally in this industry is aware of the situation and of course, anyone who had any type of interest in Uponor understands that this is the time to act," Sohlstrom said.

Uponor's share price rose 1.0% by 1030 GMT to 28.40 euros, trading about 10% above the Aliaxis bid of 25.75 euros.

Aliaxis CEO Eric Olsen on Monday said he did not think any rival bidders would offer the same level of synergies for Uponor as his company.

"As well, it is not easy from a potential alternative bidder's perspective having Aliaxis as a long-term shareholder owning more than 20% of the company," he said.

An Aliaxis spokesperson declined to comment further on Wednesday.

Swiss industrial group Georg Fischer AG is also exploring a potential offer for Uponor, potentially leading to a bidding war for the Finnish company, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

"We do not comment on rumors," Georg Fischer said when contacted by Reuters on Wednesday.

($1 = 0.9084 euros)

(Reporting by Elviira Luoma, Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)