Kinkade-Led Group to Buy Media Arts

A private group led by the California painter Thomas Kinkade has agreed to buy Media Arts Group Inc., the unprofitable seller of Kinkade reproductions and collectibles based on his works, for $32.7 million, the company said Friday.

Under the agreement, Media Arts shareholders would receive $4 in cash for each share held. The amount represents a 76% premium over the $2.27 a share that Media Arts stock closed at Friday on the New York Stock Exchange before the deal was announced.

Media Arts posted $6.2 million in losses for the first half of this year as revenue declined 49% to $27 million from the year-earlier period. Its stock price has declined 12% this year.

In April 2001, Kinkade canceled an attempt to buy out Media Arts after his $6.25-a-share bid was rejected and he couldn’t secure financing to offer more.

The purchase will be funded with borrowings and Media Arts’ cash, the company said. GE Corporate Financial Services will provide a $3-million loan and a $22-million credit line to Media Arts, the company said.

Media Arts first sold shares to the public in August 1994 at $7.25 each.