Canada's Toromont Industries Ltd said on Thursday it intends to proceed with a formal bid to acquire Enerflex Systems Income Fund, after talks for a deal with the supplier of equipment for the oil and gas industry failed.

Toromont in October announced a C$597 million ($568 million) offer to acquire Enerflex. Following the announcement, Enerflex formed a special committee of independent directors to consider the proposal and asked Toromont for further details regarding the terms of its proposal.

Toronto, Ontario-based Toromont said it has not made any meaningful progress toward a negotiated transaction since that time and hence it intends to make a formal takeover bid.

Toromont, which sells, rents and services a broad range of Caterpillar heavy construction and industrial equipment, and makes and installs compression systems, said it already owns a 9 percent stake in Enerflex.

In addition, the company said unitholders of Enerflex, who control roughly 7.5 million, or 17 percent of the company's trust units have agreed to tender their trust units to Toromont's offer.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Canada Manufacturing