US Facilities Postpones Answer to Fidelity Offer

Directors of US Facilities Corp., the target of a takeover attempt by Fidelity National Financial Inc., delayed a decision Friday on whether to accept Fidelity’s $79-million buyout offer.

A US Facilities spokeswoman said the Costa Mesa insurance holding company will not reveal until Monday anything about the daylong meeting of its nine directors.

Irvine-based Fidelity could start soliciting shareholder votes as early as next week, according to a letter that Fidelity’s chairman, William P. Foley II, sent to US Facilities on Tuesday.

Fidelity, the nation’s fifth-largest title insurer, is seeking a seat on the board of US Facilities and a vote by US Facilities’ shareholders at the annual meeting May 25 on the offer, which amounts to $15 a share. In his letter, Foley threatened to launch a proxy fight if the proposal is rejected.