Danaher's offer of 89m, or 550p per share, for the St Ives, Cambridgeshire-based firm has upped the ante following an offer of 74.2m at 470p per share made by ITW on Tuesday.

Linx's share price rocketed to 585p at lunchtime on Wednesday following the announcements, after opening yesterday morning at 321.5p.

Linx produces ink-jet and laser printers for date and batch coding of product packaging, and has a turnover of around 52m.

A statement from Danaher said that the acquisition of Linx "would represent another significant step towards building one of the world's leading groups of businesses dedicated to providing product identification solutions."

In a statement, the Linx board noted the offer from Danaher but advised existing shareholders to take no action.

Speaking yesterday on the offer from ITW, Linx chairman Michael Moore said: "In the board's view it would probably take several years for Linx's share price to match that currently represented by the offer.

"The board has therefore concluded that the offer represents fair value for Linx shareholders."

Danaher manufactures process and environmental controls and is based in Washington.

ITW, based in Illinois, makes components for a variety of industries and owns more than 600 small businesses.

Story by Josh Brooks