Fisher Rejects $383M Buyout Offer
Fisher Communications Offer May Have Come from Towerview Capital Management or GAMCO Asset Management
By Robert Marich -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/23/2008 10:32:00 AM
Weak stock prices for broadcasters apparently attracted a roughly $383 million buyout bid for Fisher Communications, which was rejected.
The Seattle-based group broadcaster said Monday that the unsolicited offer was received in April from an unidentified “financial sponsor.”
The overture may have come from investor Towerview Capital Management, which owns 9.5% of Fisher and recently filed a disclosure statement saying it wants flexibility to trade in Fisher stock, according to a Reuters report. That may have forced Fisher to acknowledge the April overture. GAMCO Asset Management is another institutional investor agitating for more shareholder value.
Fisher said Monday that the April offer was $43-$45 per share, a big premium over recent trading but below its 52-week high. Fisher shares closed Friday at $31.86. Its stock price experienced a steep drop since November, when it was trading around $50 per share.
In its statement Monday, Fisher said, “Consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with outside financial and legal advisors, the board of directors unanimously concluded that the unsolicited expression was not in the best interests of shareholders.”
Fisher owns 13 full-power broadcast-TV stations in the Western United States, among its media holdings.
