A local day-after take on the Allen/GNET deal (which, by the way, got top of the first-page coverage in Monday's afternoon paper):
Soaring stock may trim Allen's Go2Net deal
seattletimes.com
Highlights:
"There are no plans to change the tender at this time," said Susan Pierson Brown, a spokeswoman for Vulcan Ventures, Allen's investment group.
...
Analysts did say, though, that the $90-a-share offer essentially creates a "floor" for the stock, or a minimum price. That's no small thing considering the stock was trading at $66 at the beginning of last week and $47 a month ago.
Pierson Brown and Dino Christofilis, who is Go2Net's vice president for corporate development and director of investor relations, both emphasized that even a smaller Allen investment is still very significant.
...
At a minimum, Allen is investing $426 million, enough to give him 40 percent ownership of the company and control of its board. The exact number of Vulcan board seats will remain uncertain until it's known how many shares Allen winds up owning. Go2Net now has six directors.
"Regardless of how it comes out, the board of directors will be controlled by a slate of Vulcan nominees," Chandler said. "Certainly a 40 percent voting block, while technically not a controlling stake, is close enough." |
