Courting Quintana

Like many closely watched deals, especially those of the public variety where publicly reported information is strictly regulated, the headlines that came out over the past months regarding Quintana’s future were sometimes conflicting and often confusing. And with good reason; many insiders could not have said in early January what the future of the company would be, nor were they at liberty to share information about the details of the sale process. That said, we considered it worthwhile to take a deeper look at Quintana’s sale process, the offers the company received, and other alternatives they considered, as well as the valuations calculations and assumptions that formed the basis for Quintana’s ultimate decision to recommend Excel Maritime’s cash and share offer. Details have been made available to the public in advance of Quintana’s April 14 shareholder vote. Continue Reading

Defensive Acquisition with Upside

On Tuesday, just a week after Quintana‘s press release announcing the termination of the sale process, Excel and Quintana jointly announced that Excel had, over the weekend, agreed to acquire Quintana pursuant to a definitive merger agreement whereby Quintana would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Excel. The purchase price will be approximately $2.2 billion (based upon Excel’s closing price of $33.00), including net debt of Quintana and other costs.

Under the terms of the agreement, Quintana shareholders will receive a combination of cash and stock. Each Quintana share will receive $13.00 in cash and 0.4084 shares of Class A common stock in Excel. Based upon Monday’s closing price, the offer represents a total value of $26.48 per share, representing a 57% premium to Quintana’s closing price on that day of $16.89 and a 34% premium to Quintana’s 30-day average price. The agreement provides for a cap of $31.38 based upon an Excel share price of $45.00 as well as price adjustments for dividend payments. Continue Reading