Hallmark to Take Hallmark Channel Operator Crown Media Private
09 Marzo 2016 - 2:40PM
Dow Jones News
Hallmark Cards Inc. said it would take subsidiary Crown Media
Holdings, Inc., which it already owns nearly all of, private for
about $175 million.
Hallmark, which holds a 90.3% stake in Crown, delivered a letter
to its board Tuesday saying it intends to acquire the remaining
stock of Studio City, Calif.-based Crown for $5.05 a share, a 2.4%
premium over Tuesday's closing price. Crown has about 360 million
shares outstanding, including Hallmark's stake.
Because Hallmark owns more than 90% of Crown's shares, it can
proceed with a so-called short form merger under Delaware law
without any action or consent by Crown's board of directors or the
approval of other shareholders.
"Hallmark intends to operate Crown, and its use of the highly
recognized Hallmark brand in the entertainment industry, to
strengthen the Hallmark brand across all of the Hallmark
businesses," the company said in the letter. Crown operates the
Hallmark Channel.
Hallmark said the move will give the company "greater
flexibility to respond to the many risks and challenges of the
rapidly changing cable and entertainment landscape and protect its
substantial investment in Crown" and make decisions "in light of
what is best for Hallmark as a whole, without being constrained by
public, minority stockholders at Crown."
Hallmark also anticipates a decrease in costs associated with
being a public company.
Shares of Crown, which have risen 15% over the past 30 days,
were inactive premarket at $4.93.
Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 09, 2016 08:25 ET (13:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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