Whirlpool Corp. has sweetened its tender offer...

Whirlpool Corp. has sweetened its tender offer for Roper Corp. to $50 a share from $37.50, escalating its battle against General Electric Co. to acquire the appliance maker. Based on Roper’s 9.4 million common shares outstanding, the sweetened offer would be worth $470 million, up from the previous $352.5 million. Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool agreed to acquire Roper last month. However, GE on March 7 launched its own, unsolicited buyout offer of $45 a share, or $423 million, triggering an increasingly bitter battle for the Augusta, Ga.-based company.