COUNTDOWN TO VOTING DAY: Perry Ellis International Inc. founder George Feldenkreis is moving closer to attaining his goal of buying back the company he founded.
In a regulatory filing, the company said shareholders would get a yay or nay vote on Feldenkreis’ proposal to take the company private during a special meeting on Oct. 18 at the company’s headquarters in Miami.
If the merger is approved and completed, each share of common stock will be converted into the right to receive $27.50. Upon completion of the merger, Perry Ellis shares will no longer be traded and the stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market.
The company in June inked a deal with its former chairman for the transaction, valued at $437 million. Since then, there’s been much back-and-forth between the company and a competing offer from Randa Accessories. Through it all, Perry Ellis elected to stick with the Feldenkreis offer. A special committee of the company’s board was charged with reviewing the proposals to garner the best possible deal for the company and its shareholders. The committee said a stumbling block to the competing proposal was the decision by one of Perry Ellis’ largest licensees to not agree to continue its business with the firm if Randa took over.
However, there could still be some drama afoot regarding the battle for Perry Ellis. Last Thursday, Water Island Capital disclosed in a regulatory filing that has a 5.5 percent ownership stake in the company. Noting that it didn’t think the per-share amount to take the company private represented fair value, Water Island said it is “considering various options and remedies to maximize the value of its shares in connection with the merger.”