St. John Deadline Extended Again

St. John Knits Inc. said late Thursday that an investor group led by chairman and co-founder Robert Gray has for the second time extended a deadline for the company to accept its $28-a-share, $490-million offer to acquire the upscale women’s apparel maker and take it private. The announcement gave no reason for the extension, and company officials couldn’t be reached for comment.

The group, which includes Vestar Capital Partners, said the new deadline on its offer will expire next Friday. The second deadline was set to expire today.

The offer is for the 86% of the Irvine company’s shares that the Grays don’t already own. The Dec. 8 bid has been loudly criticized by both analysts and shareholders as too low, and it has attracted shareholder lawsuits.

Following the bid, St. John named several new and independent directors to a special committee to evaluate the fairness of the proposed buyout.

The extension was announced after close of the stock markets Thursday. St. John shares closed at $26.13, off 19 cents, in New York Stock Exchange trading.