Cenveo Resends Banta Merger Offer
Visual communications firm Cenveo Inc. sent another formal merger proposal to Banta Corp. Sept. 20 saying Banta's claims that its merger offer is illusory are wrong.
In a letter from chairman/CEO Robert Burton, Cenveo said its $47 per share offer for Banta was fully financed by Lehman Brothers and Wachovia.
Cenveo initially sent an offer letter Aug. 8 to Banta Corp. chairman and president/CEO Stephanie Streeter. Banta rebuffed the offer and in a statement referred to it as "an unsolicited, highly conditional indication of interest."
Cenveo, Stamford, CT, then increased its bid to the current $47 per share offer, but Banta, Menasha, WI, last week chose to reorganize, which included laying off 6 percent of its workforce.
"Your unresponsiveness to our $47 per share proposal … is another example of you and your board looking out for yourselves instead of doing what is right for the shareholders," Mr. Burton wrote in his letter of Sept. 20 "The fact that you continue to dismiss our proposal as "illusory" is outrageous and further demonstrates your entrenchment."
