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VNU Seeks Full Ownership of NetRatings
Newly-private VNU is proposing to acquire the remainder of the shares in NetRatings, Inc., a company it majority owns (60.5%) with the rest publicly held. The firm is offering $16.00 per share in cash. The NetRatings board is meeting this afternoon to discuss evaluation of the proposal.
The offer price represents a 10% premium over the Company's closing price last Friday (Oct 6th) and a 16% premium over the six-month average closing price. However, just under a third of the offer price (c.$4.90 per share) is based on NetRatings' substantial cash position (c.$180 million), on which VNU would not be expected to pay a premium. Therefore, the offer can be also be viewed as representing a 15% premium (over the 6th October valuation) or a 27% premium (over the six-month average) for the remainder of the firm's value.
If the transaction goes through, NetRatings will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of VNU, which has advised that it is only interested in acquiring the outstanding stock and has no interest in disposing of its own stake in the company.
The proposed merger would be subject to the usual conditions including the approval of the NetRatings special committee and the holders of a majority of all the outstanding shares of NetRatings' common stock.
NetRatings markets its online audience measurement and MR products under the Nielsen//NetRatings brand, and is online at www.nielsen-netratings.com . VNU is at www.vnu.com .
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