Clarity Industries’ Offer to Buy AFG Expires, but the Final Tally Isn’t Over
Clarity Industries’ tender offer for glass-making giant AFG Industries expired Tuesday, but company officials refused to comment on the deal, saying they had not finished counting the tendered shares.
Clarity was formed in late February by AFG Chairman R. D. Hubbard to take the flat-glass maker private in a $33-per-share tender offer worth $940 million. The offer was made on March 1; its deadline was extended three times. Soon after announcing the offer, Hubbard moved the AFG headquarters from Irvine to Fort Worth.
According to Securities and Exchange Commission rules, Clarity has until 9 a.m. EDT today to reopen the offer.
“After that, it (the deal) is closed, and you have to buy or return the shares,” said David Sirignano, chief of the commission’s tender offers office.
Gary Miller, AFG vice president for finance, said that his company will release a statement this morning to announce whether the required 75% of the shares had been tendered.
He said AFG’s bylaws stipulate that three-quarters of the company’s outstanding shares must be tendered for control of the company to change hands.
“We won’t know how many shares have been tendered until late this evening,” Miller said in a Tuesday telephone interview. “We can’t say anything until they get counted up. There are a number of alternatives if not enough shares are tendered. I don’t think that’ll be an issue, though.”
