Shares of Metromedia International Group Inc. (Pink Sheets: MTRM) jumped up today after news of its acquisition by Salford Georgia and Compound Capital came out yesterday afternoon. MTRM closed up 5 cents (3 percent) to $1.74 per share on volume of 2 million shares.
MTRM entered into an agreement pursuant to which affiliates of Salford Georgia and Compound Capital Limited will make a tender offer, expected to commence before July 20, 2007, for all issued and outstanding shares of MTRM common stock at a purchase price of $1.80 per share in cash.
The purchase price of $1.80 per share represents a premium of approximately 29 percent over the closing price of the common stock on July 16, 2007, the last trading day before the public announcement of the tender offer, and a premium of approximately 18 percent over the average closing price of the shares for the last 12 months.
“We are delighted with the value that the Salford/Compound group’s proposal presents to the company’s common stockholders,” said Mark Hauf – chairman, CEO and president of MTRM – said in a statement. “Following initial presentation of this proposal some months ago, the company’s board of directors undertook a comprehensive process to assess alternatives for maximizing stockholder value. We concluded that the agreement with the Salford/Compound group offers excellent value to Metromedia’s common stockholders and delivers such value quickly by means of the cash tender offer.”
Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, MTRM owns interests in several communications businesses in the country of Georgia. The company’s core businesses include Magticom Ltd., Georgia’s leading mobile telephony operator located in Tbilisi, Georgia; Telecom Georgia, a well-positioned Georgian long distance telephony operator; and Telenet, a Georgian company providing Internet access, data communications, voice telephony and international access services.