The New York investment firm of Kelso...

The New York investment firm of Kelso & Co. said it signed a merger agreement to acquire Arkansas Best Corp. for $316 million. The bid topped a competing offer by Razorback Acquisition Corp. of New York, which on June 6 raised and extended an offer it made in early May for Arkansas Best, a diversified trucking company based in Fort Smith, Ark. A Kelso unit, Best Acquisitions Corp., will acquire Arkansas Best for $26 per share of its common stock and the redemption of some debentures. Razorback’s revised offer promised $23 per common share and a lower rate of redemption for the debentures.