 Upper Deck's pullout in the bidding for the Topps Company has created some unrest among shareholders. Now, Topps has rescheduled a vote on the $9.75 per share offer made by its only remaining suitor.
The special meeting of Topps' stockholders to consider and vote on the proposed merger agreement with affiliates of The Tornante Company LLC and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC has been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 19.
The company says the Executive Committee of the Topps Board of Directors has decided to reschedule the special meeting to vote on the Tornante-MDP merger "so that all Topps stockholders can evaluate recent developments when deciding how to vote their shares."
Upper Deck recently dropped its bid to acquire Topps, which caused the company's stock price to drop. Tornante/Madison has offered $9.75 per share but in anticipation of a possible deal with Upper Deck or better offer from Tornante, the stock price had jumped over $10 in recent months.
Topps stated that "given the recent turmoil in the credit markets and the impact that this turmoil may have on alternatives to the merger" it would continue its public relations effort to sway voters to vote in favor of the sale.
Allan Feder, Lead Director of Topps' Board, stated: "Unfortunately, as a result of the $10.75 bid by Upper Deck, many Topps stockholders expected to receive something higher than $9.75 for their shares."
Topps fears the deal may fall apart if shareholders vote against it., claiming in a news release issued Monday that "the Executive Committee believes that if the meeting were to be held as scheduled on August 30, the Tornante-MDP merger would likely not receive the support of the holders of the majority of the outstanding Topps shares needed to approve the transaction. If stockholders vote against the proposed transaction, the Executive Committee believes that Tornante-MDP would terminate the merger agreement." |
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