Tyson-IBP tender offer completed

The American poultry group Tyson Foods Inc. said it had completed its tender offer for beef processor IBP Inc., bringing closer to fruition an exhaustive takeover bid that included temporary cancellation of the deal and shareholder lawsuits, Reuters reports. Tyson said in a statement on Saturday, August 4 that about 106.99 million shares, or 99.1 per cent, of IBP common stock had been tendered by midnight on Friday, when the tender offer expired. Tyson said it would purchase slightly more than half of IBP's stock, or nearly 53.50 million shares, for about $30 per share. The deal got the final go-ahead on Friday, after a Delaware judge approved a modified settlement between the companies and shareholders who claimed the deal should have been worth more. The decision by Vice Chancellor Leo Strine of the Delaware Chancery Court paved the way for Tyson to proceed with the tender for IBP creating the largest American meat company, with offerings in poultry, beef and pork. During a hearing earlier Friday, Strine refused to approve the settlement unless the companies revised it to preserve two federal lawsuits pending against them. The state lawsuits alleged that IBP was not maximizing shareholder value in accepting the deal. On Friday, IBP and Tyson agreed to pay $338,000 in legal fees to the attorneys representing those shareholders.