Deadline for Acquisition of Archive Corp. Extended

Conner Peripherals Inc. on Tuesday extended the deadline for closing its acquisition of Archive Corp. to further examine the consequences of the takeover.

Under a previously negotiated agreement, the delay means that Conner, a disk-drive maker based in San Jose, must pay an additional $12.8 million for 1.9 million unissued shares of Archive common stock at $6.75 apiece.

That stock purchase was added as a condition of the acquisition because the proposed merger forced Archive to cancel a planned secondary stock offering. If the deal falls through, the stock purchase would not be rescinded.

That payment is in addition to Conner’s tentative offer last month to buy all 18.7 million fully diluted shares outstanding of Archive for $11.25 apiece, or $210 million. Conner also agreed to assume Archive’s debt, making the acquisition worth roughly $362.8 million.

Conner said it extended the purchase deadline one week, to Nov. 18, to finish necessary paperwork, examine the effect of the merger on Archive’s strategic relationship with Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics and review accounting issues of the acquisition. Matsushita-Kotobuki makes equipment for Archive.

Conner agreed last month to acquire Archive, a maker of tape drives that back up data stored on computers in case of accidental loss, as part of an attempt to broaden its offering of computer storage devices.