Hedge fund begins tender offer for Packeteer

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., March 20 - A wholly owned subsidiary of Elliott Associates, LP began a $5.50-per-share cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Packeteer, Inc.

The offer, valued at $190 million, is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 16 unless extended, an Elliott news release stated.

Elliott said the offer is a 42% premium to Packeteer's close of $3.86 on March 4 and a 19% premium to the trailing 30-day closing price as of March 4 (34% on an enterprise value basis).

The offer is conditioned on approval by Packeteer shareholders and other customary closing conditions.

Information agent for the offer is Innisfree M&A Inc. (888 750-5834).

Elliott, a 9% shareholder, announced its offer to buy Packeteer on March 5.

It was previously reported that Elliott's offer was made following several attempts by the hedge fund to discuss the company's performance with its board of directors.

In a letter to Packeteer, Elliott blamed Packeteer's poor performance on the weak execution of selling and developing its industry-leading products. The hedge fund also noted the 37% decline of Packeteer's stock price for the year to date and its 67% decline over the past 12 months.

Packeteer is a networking technology company based in Cupertino, Calif.

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