ORLANDO, Fla., July 8, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Quadrangle Group LLC, a privately held investment company that specializes in media and communications, will acquire Greenfield Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:SRVY), an Internet survey provider, for approximately $426 million. Subsequent to the conclusion of the merger agreement, RedChip Independent, a division of RedChip Companies, Inc., will discontinue its research coverage of SRVY.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Quadrangle will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Greenfield for $15.50 per share in cash, which is marginally above RedChip's target price of $15.30 and represents a premium of approximately 17% above the closing share price of $13.28 on June 13th.
"In our opinion the acquisition of Greenfield Online is fairly valued. The offer price is in line with RedChip's valuation of SRVY stock at $15.30, which was based on a 28.86x P/E multiple applied to our estimated 2008 earnings of $0.53 per share, excluding one-time expenses," said Matthew Kantrowitz, Director of Equity Research at RedChip.
The terms of the merger agreement also provides for a 50-day post-signing "go-shop" period ending on August 4, 2008, and allows Greenfield to hunt for a competing proposal exceeding the Quadrangle offer of $15.50 per share.
The deal is to be financed by a combination of the equity and debt financing and with cash on Quadrangle's balance sheet. Quadrangle has already received financing commitments for the proposed equity and debt raising. The transaction is expected to close by late third quarter or fourth quarter 2008.
Greenfield continues its growth momentum owing to expanding geographical footprints in the Asia-Pacific region, new initiatives in B2B surveys, the launch of a new product basket, and enhanced operational efficiency. In addition, RedChip expects that Greenfield will benefit from the launch of its higher-margin comparison shopping business in the United States.
About Greenfield Online
Greenfield Online, Inc. (SRVY), with headquarters in Wilton, Conn., is an independent provider of Internet survey solutions to the global marketing research industry. Through the Internet survey solutions business in North America and Europe, Greenfield Online collects, organizes and sells consumer opinions in the form of survey responses to marketing research and end user company clients on a global basis. Through its Ciao comparison shopping portals, the company gathers unique and valuable user-generated content via product and merchant reviews that help consumers and visitors to Ciao portals compare prices and make purchasing decisions.
About RedChip Independent(tm):
RedChip Companies Inc. is a well-established source of independent research and information on the small-cap market. Dedicated to "Discovering Tomorrow's Blue Chips Today"(tm), its analysts seek out up-and-coming and undiscovered small-cap companies before they show up on Wall Street's radar screen. To view the full version of this report, subscribe to RedChip's Research Community online by visiting http://www.redchip.com/research/Researchmain.asp or call 1-800-REDCHIP.
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