National Interstate's Stock Jumps After American Financial Boosts Buyout Bid

Shares of National Interstate Corp. surged 3.7% in premarket trade Wednesday, after American Financial Group Inc. raised its buyout bid for the Ohio-based insurance holding company by 6.7% to $32 a share. The previous bid of $30 a share was announced on March 7. American Financial said the new bid represents its "best and final offer," and that it remains confident that a special committee formed to review the bid will approve a deal. Based on National Interstate's 19.93 million shares outstanding, according to FactSet, the new bid would value the insurer at about $637.8 million. National Interstate's stock hasn't traded as high as $32 since July 30, 2013. It had run up 13% year to date through Tuesday, while American Financial shares had ticked up 0.1% and the S&P 500 had gained 2.2%.