HICKORY, N.C.—In the wake of Andrew Corp.’s rejection of CommScope Inc.’s $9.50 per share acquisition proposal, CommScope said it will not pursue the company further.
“After careful consideration with our advisors, CommScope has decided not to pursue its proposal to acquire Andrew Corporation at the present time,” the company said in a statement. “CommScope’s operational excellence and financial discipline have made us a global leader in the ‘last mile’ of telecommunications. We intend to continue building upon our leadership position and we are confident that CommScope is poised to continue creating value for its stockholders.”
In rejecting CommScope Andrew also broke off its merger negotiations with ADC Telecommunications Inc., preferring instead to move forward as an independent company. Andrew had been in talks with ADC since May, but this week CommScope shook up the deal with an unsolicited takeover bid to steal Andrew away from ADC.
Andrew and ADC said they mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement after negative Wall Street reactions to the merger “raised serious questions” about whether the deal could gain shareholder approval.
In a press release, Andrew called CommScope’s acquisition proposal “wholly inadequate” and not in the best interest of Andrew’s shareholders even though the offer represented a premium of 36 percent above ADC’s $6.97 per share offer.