INDIANAPOLIS - Marsh Supermarkets here said last week it had rejected a proposal for a buyout at $13.625 per share, even though it was $2.50 per share more than a previous bid.
Investors seemed to expect offers higher than the $11.125 per share it has agreed to accept from Sun Capital Partners, Boca Raton, Fla., however, as the company's share price continued trading at more than $12 per share after it rejected the higher offer. The second bid values the company at about $108 million, vs. $88 million in the first offer.
Marsh said it rejected the higher bid from private investors Drawbridge Special Opportunities Advisors and Cardinal Paragon because of "uncertainty" surrounding the bid and the potential penalties owed to Sun Capital. According to Marsh, the company could owe a breakup fee to Sun if it did not reject new bids within 10 days.
Marsh's board of directors was slated to meet late last week to set a date for a shareholder vote on the Sun Capital offer. It had not yet filed a full proxy statement on the bid with the Securities and Exchange Commission, although earlier this month it filed letters from both bidders that detailed a heated battle over Marsh's obligations in the sale of the company.
"They have endorsed our bid, and we are very pleased with that," said Richard Hurwitz, a spokesman for Sun Capital. "We think we can restore the company to what it was, which is a dominant player in Indiana and the Midwest."
