Shareholders at Nordion (NYSE:NDZ) voted this month to approved an acquisition proposal after suitor Sterigenics boosted its offer to $13 per share, for a total value of $805 million.
The deal is still subject to regulatory approval, and a final hearing is slated to take place before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on June 11. The acquisition is also subject to closing conditions, including that Nordion have $300 million of available cash on hand at closing to complete all steps of the transaction, according to a press release.
The $13-per-share offer came earlier this month, following an initial offer of $12.15 per share originally put out in March.
"Although a clear majority of Nordion shareholders supported Sterigenics’ all-cash acquisition proposal at US$12.25 per share, there did not appear to be sufficient shareholder support to approve the transaction based on voting results available following the May 30, 2014 proxy voting deadline,"Nordion said at the time. "In an effort to secure the necessary shareholder support for the Arrangement resolution, Sterigenics has increased the cash consideration per share from US$12.25 to US$13.00 per share."
Results of that proxy vote had showed that about 65.2% of shareholders approved the merger, just shy of the 66.6% required to clear the deal. Three days later an unnamed dark horse bidder identified only as "Party A" raised the stakes to $12.50 per share, according to a press release, but that bid lacked committed debt and equity and was "subject to other conditionality, including approval by the shareholders of Party A," according to the release.
That prompted Sterigenics to raise its own offer, to be funded with "a combination of new debt facilities and equity financing, both of which are fully committed, Sterigenics’ cash on hand and a portion of Nordion’s cash on hand," Nordion said.