Apria sets shareholder meeting to OK acquisition by Blackstone for Oct. 10

By Susanna Moon

Chicago, Sept. 16 - Apria Healthcare Group, Inc. said it will hold a shareholders meeting at 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 10 to consider a proposal to approve the merger agreement between Apria and an affiliate of the Blackstone Group.

Shareholders of record as of the close of business on Aug. 18 will be entitled to vote.

The company also said it filed a definitive proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the pending merger.

On July 10, the Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period in Blackstone Group's bid to take Apria private.

In June Apria agreed to be acquired by a Blackstone affiliate for $21 cash per share in a transaction valued at about $1.6 billion, an Apria news release said.

Apria and Blackstone said at the time that they expected to close the transaction in the second half of 2008, pending shareholder approval.

Once the acquisition is complete, Apria will become wholly owned by Blackstone and its affiliates. The home health care company will maintain its corporate headquarters in Lake Forest, Calif., while Apria's infusion division will remain in Denver, it was previously reported.

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