Three of iBasis’ largest shareholders intend to reject Royal KPN’s unsolicited buyout offer of the international voice carrier, the company reported.
Millennium Management, Lloyd I. Miller III and Karen Singer sent separate letters to iBasis, which stated it would not sell shares under the terms of KPN’s offer.
Together, the three shareholders own about 11 percent of iBasis’ outstanding shares. KPN owns a controlling stake in the company, with 56 percent of its shares.
The letters echo iBasis’ prior statement that the proposed deal is “grossly inadequate, opportunistic and not in the best interests of iBasis and its minority stockholders.”
In a statement filed with the SEC, KPN said the offer is fair and that iBasis would function better as a wholly-owned subsidiary than it does as a public company.
KPN also rejected iBasis’ allegations of impropriety and said that the company’s purported “Poison Pill” defense violated agreements between KPN and iBasis’ bylaws.
KPN’s buyout offer stands at just $49 million, or $1.55 per share. At the time the offer was made, the deal represented a 19 percent premium over the company’s stock price. iBasis stock is currently trading at about $2.18 per share.
In a previous statement on the matter, iBasis claimed that KPN’s lowball offer was part of a scheme to artificially depress its stock so the shares could be bought at a discount. The company cited an internal document that it claims to show that KPN expects the company to perform better than it publicly stated.
Filed Under: Industry regulations