PROFILES: COMPANIES OR ASSETS ACQUIRED – DECEMBER 11, 2009
Millstream Acquisition, which raised $24.15 million when it went public on August 25, 2003, completed the acquisition of NationsHealth, Inc. (stock symbol: NHRX), a provider of medical products and prescription related service, on August 31, 2004. Millstream Acquisition was the first of the recent blank check companies to go public, and the first to complete an acquisition. On July 23, 2009, ComVest Investors Partners III, a Florida-based private equity firm, purchased all of the outstanding shares of NationsHealth at $.12 per share. The common shares traded as high as $8.33. The warrants expired worthless on August 24, 2007. The units were originally priced at $6.00.
The founder of Millstream Acquisition, Arthur Spector, took another blank check company, Millstream II Acquisition, public on December 23, 2004, raising gross proceeds of $27.6 million. Millstream II was unable to close on its acquisition and eventually was liquidated in 2007.
CEA Acquisition, which raised $24.15 million when went public on February 13, 2004, completed the acquisition of etrials Worldwide (stock symbol: ETWC), a global provider of integrated software for the life sciences industry, on February 9, 2006. CEA Acquisition was the second SPAC to go public. On June 16, 2009, Merge Healthcare (stock symbol: MRGE) purchased all of the outstanding shares of etrials Worldwide for .3448 shares of MRGE and $.80 in cash. The shares of MRGE last traded at $3.21, giving the old shares of etrials, which once traded as high as $6.29, a value of $1.91. The warrants expired worthless on February 11, 2008. The units were originally priced at $6.00.
Ithaka Acquisition Corp., which raised $53.1 million when it went public on August 16, 2005, completed its acquisition of Alsius Corporation (stock symbol: ALUS), a commercial-stage medical device company that develops, manufactures and sells proprietary products to precisely control patient temperature in hospital critical care settings, on June 21, 2007. On May 5, 2009, the company announced that it had sold its assets to Zoll Medical., and that the net proceeds (after the payment of liabilities), estimated at $.36 per share, would be distributed to its shareholders. The first distribution of $.30 per share was made on July 7, 2009. The current status of the company is uncertain. The common shares, which traded as high as $6.35, last traded at $.04. The common shares have traded as high as $6.35. The warrants, which had a strike price of $5.00, expired worthless. The units were originally priced at $6.00.
Ad.Venture Partners, Inc., which raised $54 million when it went public on August 26, 2005, completed its acquisition of 180 Connect, Inc. (stock symbol: CNCT), one of the largest outsourced providers of technology fulfillment and integration services for the home, on August 24, 2007. As an incentive to the shareholders of Ad. Venture to approve the transaction, the founders agreed to give up 352,000 of their shares to individual investors purchasing 2,200,000 shares of the company with the intent that those shares would be voted in favor of the acquisition. On July 9, 2008, DIRECTV completed the acquisition of 180 Connect for $1.80 per share in cash. The common shares traded as high as $4.83. The units were originally priced at $6.00.
Platinum Energy Resources, Inc. (stock symbol: PGRI), which raised $115.2 million when it went public on October 25, 2005, completed its acquisition of Tandem Energy Holdings, an oil and gas company, on November 1, 2007. As an incentive to the shareholders of Platinum Energy to approve the transaction, an affiliate of one of the insiders agreed to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares from certain of the investors. On December 10, 2009, Pacific International Group Holdings LLC, which already owns a 49.7% interest in Platinum Energy Resources, announced a tender offer for the remaining shares that it does not own at $.50 per share. The common shares, which have traded as high as $7.99, last traded at $.495. The warrants, which had a strike price of $6.00, expired on October 23, 2009. The units were originally priced at $8.00.
Highbury Financial, Inc. (stock symbol: HBRF), which raised $47.5 million when it went public on January 25, 2006, completed the acquisition of the U.S. mutual fund business of ABN AMRO on November 30, 2006. On December 14, 2009, Highbury announced that it had agreed to merge with Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. in a transaction valued at $6.10 to $6.33 per Highbury share. The common stock and warrants last traded at $4.00 and $.0251, respectively, giving the units, which last traded at $3.00, a value of $3.05. The common shares have traded as high as $6.75. The warrants have a strike price of $5.00 and have an expiration date of January 25, 2010. The units were originally priced at $6.00.
SI has a thread devoted to HBRF at:
Subject 57050
Acquicor Technology, Inc., which raised $174.5 million when it went public on March 14, 2006, completed its acquisition of Jazz Semiconductor, Inc., an independent wafer foundry primarily focused on specialty CMOS process technologies, on February 16, 2007. When Acquicor first announced its proposed acquisition of the company on September 26, 2006, Jazz Semiconductor was midway through the process of filing for an IPO. The company subsequently changed its name to Jazz Technologies, Inc. The founders of Acquicor were Gilbert F. Amelio, Ph.D., Ellen M. Hancock and Steve Wozniak. As an incentive to the shareholders of Acquicor to approve the transaction, the founders agreed to return 1,873,738 of their shares to the company at a price of $.0047 per share, reducing their overall position to 3.5 million shares. On September 17, 2008, Tower Semiconductor (stock symbol: TSEM) exchanged 1.8 shares of TSEM for each share of JAZZ. The common shares of TSEM last traded at $.99, giving the original units of Acquicor, which no longer trade, a value of $1.78. The common shares of Jazz traded as high as $5.69. The units were originally priced at $6.00. |
