KPN may have increased its offer to purchase the remaining stake in iBasis, but the VoIP provider is still not ready to make a formal decision. In the latest development of the ongoing takeover battle between the Burlington, Mass.-based company and KPN, the Special Committee of iBasis' Board of Directors will, in consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, review and evaluate the revised offer and make a recommendation to iBasis stockholders in due course.
iBasis' two stockholders, which include the Trustee of the Singer Children's Management Trust (Singer) and Millennium Management LLC, own about 4.2 percent and 3.6 percent respectively of iBasis' common stock, or about 17.9 percent of iBasis' common stock not owned by KPN. In addition, iBasis' other large stockholders said they won't honor KPN's revised offer either.
Adding to the ongoing drama is a claim that a meeting between Morgan Stanley (representing KPN), Singer and other iBasis stockholders was "in response to requests from representatives" of Singer and other stockholders. Singer pointed out that it was Morgan Stanley that was the one that requested the meeting. During this meeting, Morgan Stanley said KPN would increase its bid to $2.25 per share if the stockholders accepted the offer and would drop a previous lawsuit brought against KPN. In the end, Singer said it was never going to accept KPN's new offer for iBasis.
For more:
- see the release here
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