Michael's Companies to go private in $5B deal

Arts and crafts retailer Michaels Companies Inc. has reached an agreement with Apollo Global Management to take the company private.

The deal, valued at $5 billion including debt, will pay Michaels shareholders $22 per share – a 47% premium to the $15 per share closing price on Feb. 26, the day before press reports suggested a deal was in the works.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
mik	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-

“The Company’s impressive growth transformation, including our financial and operational performance in the unprecedented environment of the pandemic, led to an unsolicited offer to buy the company,” said James Quella, chairman of the Michaels board of directors.

After evaluating the offer, Michaels' board of directors decided that it represented a “compelling value” to shareholders, he added.

The merger includes a 25-day go-shop period which allows Michaels to solicit other offers and to terminate the deal for a superior proposal. UBS is serving as the company's exclusive financial adviser.

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Michaels will report its fourth-quarter results ahead of Thursday's opening bell, but will no longer hold the conference call that was scheduled for 8 a.m. ET.

Shares were up 39% this year through Tuesday, outperforming the S&P 500's 3.04% gain.