Black & Decker Corp. of Towson, Md.,...

Black & Decker Corp. of Towson, Md., raised its bid for American Standard Inc. to about $2.5 billion from $2.3 billion. But the price, raised to $77 a share from $73, still falls $1 a share short of a tender by private investment banker Kelso & Co., which reached an agreement this week to acquire American Standard. Decker’s offer has now been extended to expire March 31, meaning shareholders would be able to get their money sooner than they would if they tender to Kelso, whose tender starts Monday and runs for 20 days. New tenders, such as Kelso’s, must be open for 20 days, while an amended one must only be extended 10 days.