As America settled its presidential tug-of-war on Tuesday, Epicor Software faced a new twist in its now-protracted battle against a takeover by private equity firm Elliott Associates.
In an SEC filing dated yesterday, Elliott reduced its offer to $7.50 for the remainder of outstanding Epicor stock, a significant shift from its initial bid of $9.50 per share. The new offer would translate into a total buyout of $684 million, which includes Epicor’s market capitalization of approximately $445 million, its $95 million in cash on hand, and the assumption of $339 million in debt.
Epicor responded today by rejecting the lowered offer and reiterating the rationale it had put forth in rebuffing the earlier proposal.
"Our Board of Directors has maintained from the beginning, and continues to believe, that Elliott Associates' offer is opportunistic and would deprive stockholders from benefiting from the value associated with Epicor's current and planned retail and ERP business software solutions, including Epicor 9,” CEO Thomas Kelly said in a statement.