EnerSys Launches $16.00 Cash Tender Offer for Ultralife; ULBI Jumps 145%

What happened

EnerSys Mergersub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of battery maker EnerSys, commenced a tender offer on October 28, 2026 for any and all outstanding shares of Ultralife Corporation common stock at $16.00 per share in cash, according to the Schedule TO filed with the SEC.

Ultralife, based in Newark, New York, makes miscellaneous electrical machinery, equipment and supplies. The filing identifies the subject class as Ultralife common stock, par value $0.10 per share.

The offer is being made under an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated October 27, 2026 among EnerSys, EnerSys Mergersub and Ultralife, the filing states. The filing also references a Tender and Support Agreement dated the same day among EnerSys, the merger subsidiary, Bradford T. Whitmore, SUNRAY I, LLC, Whitmore Holdings, LLC and the Bradford Whitmore Trust.

Ultralife shares closed at $15.61 on the event date, up 145.44% from the prior close of $6.36, on volume of 2,496,813 shares against an average of 53,883, according to the price data.

The filing does not describe the reasons EnerSys is pursuing the transaction beyond the merger agreement referenced as an exhibit.

The offer terms

The Schedule TO states the offer covers any and all outstanding Ultralife shares for $16.00 per share, payable in cash, without interest and subject to reduction for applicable withholding taxes.

The offer is not subject to a financing condition, the filing states under Item 7.

The offer to purchase is dated October 28, 2026, and is filed along with the letter of transmittal, broker and client letters, and a summary advertisement published in The New York Times that day.

The filing states that EnerSys holds no Ultralife securities and reports no securities transactions in Item 8.

What this means

A Schedule TO is the disclosure document a bidder files when it makes a tender offer for another company's stock under Section 14(d)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This version, an SC TO-T, is filed by a third party — here EnerSys and its merger subsidiary — rather than by Ultralife itself. It tells shareholders the price, the conditions and who is paying.

A tender offer is an invitation to shareholders to sell their shares at a stated price during a stated window, rather than a trade on an exchange. A shareholder who tenders accepts the $16.00 cash price; a shareholder who does not can keep the stock, subject to what happens later under the merger agreement, which the Schedule TO references but does not reproduce.

The price data shows the market repricing Ultralife shares toward the offer price: the stock closed at $15.61 against a $16.00 bid, up from $6.36 the day before, on volume roughly 46 times its recent average. That gap between the market price and the offer price typically reflects the time remaining before the offer closes and any uncertainty about completion.

The Tender and Support Agreement cited in the filing is a separate commitment by named shareholders — including a trust and entities tied to Bradford T. Whitmore — to tender their shares, which the filing references as an exhibit but does not quote.

The next scheduled step in the process, as laid out by the filing itself, is the offer period during which holders may tender, followed by the merger mechanics set out in the referenced merger agreement. The filing does not state a closing timeline or the regulatory approvals required; those appear in sections of the offer to purchase that are incorporated by reference but not reproduced in this document.