P.M. BRIEFING : West Point-Pepperell OKs Takeover

West Point-Pepperell Inc., the nation’s largest publicly held textile company, said today that it had agreed to a $1.67-billion takeover bid from Chicago-based Farley Inc.

Earlier today, the company had said it expected to make an announcement around midday and asked the New York Stock Exchange to suspend trading in its stock. The agreement to accept Farley’s $58-per-share bid ended five months of wrangling. Earlier this month, Farley offered $52 a share, or $1.5 billion, for West Point, which responded by negotiating an auction of the company. Farley launched its bid in October, offering $48 a share, which West Point-Pepperell, based in West Point, Ga., turned down.