Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan gave the board three extensions, the third expired Friday, October 14, without another extension. Smulyan had offered Emmis shareholders $4.10 per share in his third attempt to take the company private.
In a letter to the Emmis board Smulyan said, “I am sorry we could not reach an agreement on the valuation. I look forward to continuing to work with you as we move Emmis forward as a public company.”
Timothy Stabosz, a member of the LaPorte City Council and an investor who owns about 150,000 shares of Emmis had opposed the deal. He told the Indianapolis Star, “I’m delighted and grateful. I don’t normally telegraph my intentions publicly, but I’m so delighted that if the stock drops, I’ll be buying it up.”
Here’s what Smulyan’s final letter, filed with the SEC stated: “Mr. Smulyan intends to review continuously his investment in the Issuer, the Issuer’s business affairs, capital needs and general industry and economic conditions, and, based on such review, Mr. Smulyan may, from time to time, commence discussions with directors of the Issuer regarding a potential offer with terms similar to or different than those of the proposal described herein, determine to make a similar proposal on similar or different terms than those of the proposal described herein, otherwise increase his ownership of the Issuer’s common stock, approve an extraordinary corporate transaction with regard to the Issuer or engage in any of the events set forth in Items 4(a) through (j) of Schedule 13D, except that Mr. Smulyan currently has no intention of selling any shares of the Issuer’s common stock.”
