(Updates with more details, background)
NEW YORK, Oct 2 (Reuters) - U.S. auto parts maker ArvinMeritor on Thursday extended its $2.2 billion hostile takeover offer for Dana Corp. by another four weeks after scant few shares were tendered in favor of the bid.
ArvinMeritor , based in Troy, Michigan, said as of 5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, about 2.34 million Dana shares, or less than 2 percent of the company's total, had been tendered and not withdrawn in favor of the offer.
Toledo, Ohio-based Dana has said it considers the $15 per share offer, launched last July, "inadequate."
The company reiterated that position late on Thursday, noting ArvinMeritor also has yet to reveal how it would finance the transaction or overcome the potential antitrust hurdles.
"The board concluded (previously) that the offer was a financially inadequate, high-risk proposal that was not in the best interest of Dana or its shareholders, and nothing has changed with respect to the offer since that time," said Bill Carroll, Dana's acting president and chief operating officer, in a statement.
Thursday's extension is yet another phase in the takeover saga that has been punctuated by court fights, the death of Dana's chief executive and a below-par financial performance announced by ArvinMeritor earlier this week.
The results, in which ArvinMeritor cut its profit outlook, raised doubts among analysts about its ability, and need, to complete the all-cash deal.
Dana's shares closed at $15.35 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, above ArvinMeritor's $15 per share offer price. ArvinMeritor's shares closed 2 cents down at $17.83.