Jeffersonville, Ind.-American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) on Oct. 18 announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Platinum Equity in a transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $777 million. ACL’s board of directors, acting on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors, approved the agreement and has recommended the approval of the transaction to ACL’s stockholders. Under the terms of the agreement, ACL stockholders, other than GVI Holdings Inc. and certain of its affiliates (GVI), will receive $33.00 in cash for each share of ACL common stock they hold. GVI will receive $31.25 in cash for each share of ACL common stock it holds if the transaction closes before Dec. 31, 2010, and $33.00 per share thereafter. GVI has entered into a voting agreement to support the transaction. ACL may solicit acquisition proposals from third parties for a period of 40 calendar days continuing through Nov. 27, 2010. It is not anticipated that any developments will be disclosed with regard to this process unless ACL’s board makes a decision with respect to a potential superior proposal. ACL said there are no guarantees that this process will result in a superior proposal. ACL is an integrated marine transportation and service company operating in the United States Jones Act trades, with approximately $850 million in revenues and approximately 2,570 employees as of Dec. 31, 2009. Platinum is a global firm specializing in the merger, acquisition, and operation of companies that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of business markets. Since its founding in 1995 Platinum has completed over 100 acquisitions, with more than $27.5 billion in aggregate annual revenue at the time of acquisition.
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