Impac Calls Off Proposed Merger With Dallas Firm

Impac Commercial Holdings Inc., a Santa Ana real estate investment trust, said Tuesday that it has decided jointly with Amresco Capital Trust to end their proposed merger agreement.

Impac said in a press release that neither company will be penalized for not completing the deal, under which Dallas-based Amresco would have issued 0.661 of a share for every Impac share. Had the companies merged, Amresco shareholders would have owned about 60% of the combined company.

In October, Impac’s board rejected a merger bid by Apex Mortgage Capital Inc., saying the bid was not superior to Amresco’s. Apex said in a Dec. 27 document filed with federal regulators that it is prepared to continue with a negotiated purchase of Impac.

Both Impac and Amresco said the proposed merger fell through because the deal was “less attractive” than when it was proposed in August. At the time, Impac was hard hit by a credit crunch in the commercial mortgage market.

Amresco said it now will consider other alternatives, including another merger, a sale or the winding down of business. Impac, though, said it has generated “substantial liquidity” and can provide “attractive returns” for investors.

Separately, Impac declared a fourth-quarter cash dividend of 12.5 cents a share, payable Jan. 28 to shareholders of record on Jan. 14.

The board also approved the repurchase of up to 10% of its outstanding stock in the open market from time to time through the end of the year.

Impac’s stock price closed Tuesday at $5.25 a share, down 13 cents in light trading on the New York Stock Exchange.