Thursday, April 5, 2012

Great Wolf (Nasdaq: WOLF) Gets Offer from KSL, Topping Apollo’s (NYSE: APO) Bid

Great Wolf (Nasdaq: WOLF) Gets Offer from KSL, Topping Apollo’s (NYSE: APO) BidOrlando, FL 4/5/12 (StreetBeat) -- Great Wolf Resorts Inc. (Nasdaq: WOLF), which runs 11 resorts with water slides and pools in the U.S. and Canada, said it has received an offer from KSL Capital Partners LLC, topping a proposed buyout by Apollo Global Management LLC. (NYSE: APO).

KSL Capital is offering to acquire the company for $6.25 per share in cash, Great Wolf said in a statement yesterday. The price is a 9.6 percent premium to the closing price of $5.70 yesterday. The Madison, Wisconsin-based company will consider and evaluate the proposal and has no further comments, it said.

Great Wolf was sued by shareholders following the March 13 bid by New York-based Apollo, which offered $5 a share in a deal valued at $703 million, including the assumption of Great Wolf’s debt. The lawsuits claimed Great Wolf didn’t obtain the highest possible offer, saying its own financial adviser, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., valued it between $3.74 and $7.98 a share.

In its deal with Apollo, run by Chief Executive Officer Leon Black, Great Wolf was required to adopt a shareholders’ rights plan to thwart hostile acquirers and agreed not to solicit other interested parties. It will also pay the buyout firm $5.3 million, and as much as $1.7 million in Apollo’s expenses, if the company accepts a superior offer.

The company owns, manages and licenses family resorts featuring indoor water parks, suite-style rooms, restaurants, spas and arcades. The company started its first Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, in 1997, and the chain has expanded into eight other U.S. states and Canada.

The company had more than $143 million in cumulative federal tax losses as of Dec. 31, which equate to $1.62 a share of potential future tax benefits.

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