Gores, Aquest Pull Bid for Asyst
May 6, 2008
Los Angeles private equity shop Gores Group and Aquest Systems withdrew their bid to acquire Asyst Technologies after saying Asyst repeatedly refused to negotiate.
Asyst had said it rejected several unsolicited offers from Gores and Aquest over the past several months. Aquest's current chief executive Mihir Parikh was once chief executive for Asyst, a fellow semiconductor equipment maker.
When the Gores and Aquest made its team bid public on Feb. 25, they revealed an offer of between $5 and $6 a share, a 37% premium over Asyst's prior-day closing price of $3.64. Shortly afterwards, Asyst formally rejected the offer, saying that the bid was undervalued and was timed to take advantage of a low point in in the semiconductor equipment cycle.
The Gores-Aquest bid was among several aggressive moves from private equity shops over the past few months to keep deal flow churning while the credit markets remain tight.
After midday, shares of Asyst traded at $3.50, down 13 cents, or 4%.
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