Columbia Helicopters confirm they are going ahead with sale despite Bristows stock price plunging.
https://www.oregonlive.com/business/...g-stock.htmlBy Mike Rogoway The Oregonian/OregonLive
Oregon-based Columbia Helicopters says it still wants to sell itself to a Texas company, even though the buyer’s share price has plunged by more than two-thirds since announcing
the $559 million deal.
Bristow Group’s investors began unloading shares almost as soon as the company announced its plan to buy privately held Columbia last November, driving Bristow’s stock down from $10.04 to just $3.16.
Bristow’s deteriorating position on Wall Street has produced calls for the Texas company to scuttle the deal. But Columbia Helicopters insists it intends to sell.
“There’s a lot of talk, obviously, but the facts are the facts. There’s an agreement,” said Santiago Crespo, Columbia’s vice president of business development and strategy.
Most of the purchase price, $492 million, is to be paid in cash, much of which Bristow intends to borrow. So the precipitous decline in Bristow stock has only diminished what Columbia’s owners would receive by $43 million, about 8 percent.
It has devastated Bristow, though. The deal currently values Columbia at $516 million, 4.5 times Bristow’s diminished market capitalization.