The Anderson family has withdrawn its offer to acquire all the shares in Books-A-Million that were not already owned by the family. The proposal, made April 28, called for the Andersons to pay $3.05 per share in a deal that would have taken the nation’s second largest bookstore chain private. The offer attracted at least seven class action lawsuits that claimed the offer was undervalued. In its announcement, BAM said the offer was withdrawn after discussing the matter with the two-person special committee that had been established by the BAM board to review the bid.
The Anderson family includes BAM chairman Clyde Anderson and controls about 53% of the retailer’s stock. At the time of the offer, BAM’s stock was trading at $2.49 per share and was at $3.17 per share Tuesday before the decision by the Anderson family was announced. The stock price fell in early trading Wednesday morning, down 18% to $2.60 per share. As part of the proposal, the Andersons said they wanted a quick decision on the offer and expressed little interest in raising the bid.
