LMI Aerospace Inc. announced Wednesday that Ronald Saks will retire after three decades as chief executive and that an outsider, Dan Korte, would take the helm.

The news spurred Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner to speculate that the retirement could clear the way for a takeover of LMI, which sent shares of the St. Charles-based aerospace company up nearly 4 percent.

In a research note, Reiner put the possible takeover price at $20 per share. LMI shares closed at $14.98, up 54 cents for a 3.7 percent gain. It had traded up as high as $15.44 in the late morning.

In response, LMI legal director Renee Skonier said, Currently there are no plans for the sale of the business.

Dan Korte, 53, former president of Defense Aerospace at Rolls-Royce, will become president and CEO of LMI on March 18, the company said. Korte also served as vice president and general manager at Boeing Strike Systems in St. Louis. He began his career in St. Louis as an engineer at McDonnell Douglas in 1985 in St. Louis, and rose through the ranks. Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas in 1997.

Saks, 70, has run LMI since 1984, taking it from $5 million to more than $400 million in revenue. He will remain as a nonexecutive chairman.

A central pillar of the bull thesis on (LMI) is that it should eventually be bought out, Reiner wrote in his research note. The departure of Saks, whose connection to (LMI) is deeply personal as well as professional, makes the scenario appear more likely.

Saks owns 10 percent of LMIs shares, Reiner noted.

LMI has suffered from shrinking profit margins and has missed earnings forecasts, he said, adding that several acquisitions didnt go as planned.

Valent, the most recent of these deals, has saddled (LMI) with almost $300M of net debt, Reiner wrote.

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LMI Aerospace's CEO Saks retiring