A merger that has been in the works for almost 4 months now was finally completed on Friday with the stockholders of Gaming Partners International (GPI) agreeing to the merger with Angel Holdings. This fully completed the merger which was first reported by our site on November 29 of last year.
After GPI reported a net profit of over $2.5 million in the second quarter of last year, it was announced shortly afterwards then an agreement had been reached between Angel Holdings and GPI to merge the two companies. The increase in revenue led to an increase in value for GPI, which gave them a more solid position in relation to the merger deal.
According to the terms of the deal, Angel was to pay $13.75 per share, with all of that being paid in cash. The total cost of purchase to acquire the shares would be over $110 million, with all of it being paid immediately.
The merger seemed like a common-sense decision. Angel is the manufacturer and supplier of cards and card games both in the gaming industry as well as in retail markets across the globe. GPI is the manufacturer and supplier of casino table game equipment that is licensed to casinos across the globe. That a playing card manufacturer would merge with a card table game manufacturer seemed like a no-brainer.
While an agreement had been reached, there was still a question as to whether the finality of the merger would actually occur. As part of the agreement, GPI’s Board of Directors was allowed to solicit and receive other offers in an attempt to find a more lucrative deal. They were given until February 2 to find such a deal, which would haven’t negated the agreement had that occurred.
Whether other offers were received or if the company had gone to solicit other offers is not known, but the February 2 threshold passed without any counter offer and it appeared at that time that the agreement was set to move forward.
The final step in the merger was to get final approval from the stockholders of GPI. With some minor exceptions, the overwhelming majority agreed to the merger, agreeing to sell their shares to Angel. A time was not specified of exactly when the cash payment for the stocks were to be paid.
The news that the merger had been completed led to a 0.32% increase in the stock price of Angel Holdings on Friday, moving from a price of $28.46 to $28.55 per share.
