In Brief: U.S. Surgical/Circon
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
U.S. Surgical/Circon: USSC amends the terms of its unsolicited tender offer for all outstanding shares of Circon, proposing to buy on a "pro rata basis" up to 973,174 shares of Circon for $14.50 each. The shares, combined with the approximately 1 mil. shares USSC already owns, would lift USSC's ownership of Circon to about 14.9%, just shy of the 15% level that would trigger a Circon "poison pill," USSC says. The offer is good until July 14, after which USSC says it will initiate a new tender offer of $16.50 per share for all outstanding Circon stock. USSC commenced its tender offer for all outstanding Circon stock last August, bidding $18 per share. The offer was lowered to $17 per share in December due to Circon's worse-than-expected third quarter operating results. "Based upon results for the past three quarters, USS can no longer justify to its shareholders -- absent the ability to review and discuss with Circon's management its operating plan -- an offer of $17 per share," USSC says in a press release. In NASDAQ trading Monday, Circon stock climbed 5/8 points to $13-3/8...