ENGINEERING firm GKN, which employs hundreds of people on the Isle of Wight, is facing a hostile takeover bid after rejecting an offer last week.

Manufacturing turnaround company Melrose made the unsolicited bid but GKN turned it down, with bosses saying it was opportunistic and undervalued the company. GKN was reportedly valued at £7 billion.

Melrose has since approached GKN's shareholders in a bid to convince them to support a merger worth £7.4 billion.

GKN has 160 manufacturing locations, including East Cowes, and employs 58,000 people across its sites.