U.S. 1 Industries Inc. on Friday, Jan. 21, announced it had received a proposal from Trucking Investment Co. Inc. to acquire the outstanding shares of the Valparaiso, Ind.-based company at a price of $1.43 per share, an increase from the $1.17 per share offer previously received by the company and announced in September 2010. U.S. 1 says the increase in offer price reflects negotiations between a special committee of independent directors of the company and TIC.
TIC was formed by Harold Antonson and Michael Kibler, who combined own about 52 percent of the company’s stock. The price represents a premium of 46 percent over the $0.98 per share average reported closing price of U.S. 1’s common stock for the 90 trading days ended Sept. 15, 2010, the last trading day prior to the initial proposal and a 43 percent premium over the $1.00 per share reported closing price on Sept 15, 2010.
The proposal is conditioned upon the company entering into a definitive merger agreement with TIC providing for the acquisition by TIC of the shares of U.S. 1 that are not held by Antonson and Kibler. The special committee and TIC are actively negotiating a definitive merger agreement. According to U.S. 1, TIC has been advised by U.S. Bank that it believes that it will be able to fund the purchase price for the shares that are acquired.
