Leading US projector company, InFocus has said it is sticking with an acquisition offer made by Image Holdings and had recently turned down a subsequent, unsolicited proposal from another company. The move has upset some shareholders who have now filed a class action against the company.
Last month InFocus entered into a merger agreement with Image Holdings (IHC).
Under the terms of the agreement, IHC and its wholly owned subsidiary, IC Acquisition, made an all-cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of InFocus stock at $0.95 per share, or roughly $39 million total.
That offer represented a 36 percent premium over the April 9 closing price of $0.70 per share, the last trading day prior to the agreement, and a 90 percent premium over the last 30-day average closing price of $0.50 per share. The acquisition is subject to the tender of a minimum of 65 percent of InFocus outstanding shares.
However, just nine days after the deal was done, a new bid emerged from an unnamed company.
According to CE Pro, InFocus said in a statement that it has been in talks with and had “extensive negotiations” with the unnamed party that made the alternative bid. However, the mystery bidder failed to submit a binding proposal to acquire InFocus. The company also said that the offer would have to garner foreign regulatory approvals, which could be “subject to substantial uncertainties.”
InFocus refused to divulge the terms of the offer, company, or person behind the bid. At the time, InFocus said in a statement that its board of directors was still in favor of the merger and that it “continues to unanimously recommend that InFocus shareholders accept and tender their shares.”
Some shareholders have been disgruntled with the company for years over what it has termed mismanagement, and blame it for a steep drop in stock price.
Two days ago, an InFocus shareholder filed a class action lawsuit against the company, according to Portland Business Journal. The angry shareholder, Donald Donovan, claims that the company’s offer from IHC undervalues its worth, and wants to halt the merger.
