The bidding war continues. While Chatham had proposed a new offer to purchase in mid-December, eclipsing Atlas, the New York-listed RR Donnelley & Sons (RRD) announced on December 29 that it had received a proposal from a third potential buyer.
The largest commercial and independent printer in the U.S., with $4.77 billion in revenue in 2020, received a "alternative acquisition proposal" unsolicited offer from an undisclosed party. The $11.00 per share cash offer is above the last offer from private investor Chatham - RRD's largest bondholder with 14.9 percent of the stock - which was $10.85.
This third player had already made a proposal in late November at $10.00 per share.
The Board of Directors believes that this new proposal "could reasonably" be considered a superior proposal as defined in the merger agreement with Chatham, which would end the buyout process.
However, at this time, the Board has not made a decision on this matter. It states that there is no "no insurance" that a transaction would result from the proposal of this new buyer or that another transaction would be concluded.
RDD also announced that it received a letter from Chatham stating that the new proposal is not a superior proposal and that a contrary opinion from the board would be a violation of the past merger agreement.
RRD's first ever offer to purchase s share price, as of last November, was $8.52 from Atlas, which operates 23 companies in a wide range of industries including packaging, paper and printing.
