West Point-Pepperell Inc., which has spurned Farley Inc.`s $48-a-share offer for three months, said Friday its board is talking with third parties interested in buying the company.
In an amendment to its Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Pepperell said its board of directors has not made a decision to sell the company but is continuing to review alternatives, including a leveraged buyout and talks with third parties.
William Farley, chairman and chief executive officer of Farley Inc., blasted Pepperell executives, saying the announcement is all the more reason for shareholders to vote to remove Pepperell`s board of directors.
On Feb. 25, a special shareholders meeting will be held in Atlanta, where Farley will seek to replace Pepperell`s directors with a new board that would approve the Farley takeover.
”I am outraged that West Point`s board could have wasted so much time and effort to thwart our offer and continue to frustrate shareholders who have expressed interest in realizing the value of our $48-per-share offer,”
William Farley said in a statement.
Farley Inc. first made its $48-a-share, or $1.4 billion, tender offer in October.
”I am more determined than ever to press ahead with our effort to acquire West Point-Pepperell,” Farley said.
Pepperell, the nation`s largest publicly held textile company, is fighting the takeover attempt in court.
Deborah Bronston, a textile industry analyst with Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. in New York, said Pepperell`s announcement may be more than a search for a ”white knight.”
”It leaves open the option that if they win in the courts, they may not do anything,” she said. ”I think they have to come to the special shareholders meeting Feb. 25 with a financial alternative (to the Farley attempt), and so far they don`t have one.”
But it is unclear who the other potential buyers for Pepperell might be. Bronston said Sam Walton, the owner of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and one of the richest people in the United States, has been mentioned.
Farley announced this week that the amount of Pepperell stock tendered by shareholders has increased to 62 percent from 57 percent of the outstanding shares.
