APRIL 08 W3 SPECIAL ALERTD&M Auction - The Heat is On as Best Buy Jumps In
Auction Pace Accelerates As Largest Customer of D&M Makes Bid for Company
<JCN-TOKYO><April 11, 2008>JCN Network in Japan reported late Friday that Best Buy Co. has joined the battle for acquiring D&M Holdings, Inc. by making a bid to buy the 49% stake currently held by RHJ International SA/NV. Citing unnamed "informed sources" the story says that Best Buy hopes to "improve its competitiveness" by bringing the manufacturer of high end brands in-house.
This story appears to corroborate one that appeared in a Special ALERT just last Friday in which Reuters reported that an unnamed retailer of electronic goods from "outside of Japan" was in the running - as well as private equity companies Bain Capital and Advantage Partners.
The JCN story also identifies Bain Capital LLC, Advantage Partners LLP, along with Merrill Lynch as the remaining participants - along with Best Buy - in the RHJI auction. According to the story these four companies are the "round two" participants, who are all now in the process of detailed due diligence and will be submitting business plans and proposals to RHJI. A decision from RHJI could come as early as next month.
JCN reports that the cost of acquisition to the succesful buyer is expected to be 50 billion yen (just under $500 million). Reuters had set the value of the D&M business at $277 million.
Harman International Industries, recently identified as in negotiation with RHJI for their D&M Holdings, was said to have been "outbid" in the "first round" of the auction process and is apparently no longer in the running.