Icahn/Macklowe's bid, said to be worth $4.6 billion, offers $49 in cash per share. The new bidder has asked for 10 days to complete its due diligence on the transaction. Late in the afternoon yesterday, SL Green issued a statement calling into question the new bid.
The company said, "While the company has been advised of another offer, we have doubts that it is a credible bid. The proposal is from a group that has not had access to any non-public information and has conditioned its offer on due diligence. Having gone through a thorough due diligence process ourselves, we know there are substantial incremental transaction costs that they have likely not considered. Furthermore, the offer does not show that the bidders have the committed and unconditional financing for a transaction valued in excess of $6.5 billion."
SL Green's proposal includes about $44.89 to $31.68 in cash per share as well as $13.21 of SL Green shares for each Reckson one. The total value is $4.13 billion plus an additional $2 billion of Reckson debt that SL Green would pick up.
The proposed merger ran up against opposition from shareholder Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder Advisors LLC, who sent a letter to Reckson's board of directors on Oct. 30 to inform the company it plans to vote all its 835,000 shares against the merger. Since then the value of Reckson stock in the deal has been brought into question.
Reckson shareholders were set to vote on the deal on Nov. 22, but could already begin casting votes via Internet, telephone or mail. Analysts expect the vote to be postponed now. Should the voting date not be moved, analysts have conjectured that shareholders will vote against the merger with SL Green.
According to the merger agreement, SL Green has the option to match another bidder, although analysts like Ross Nussbaum of Bank of America, doubt that SL Green will offer more money to acquire Reckson.
Mack-Cali, which had been named as a potential bidder prior to Icahn/Macklowe's bid, did not return calls on Thursday as to whether it was entertaining the idea of also submitting a bid.
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