Outdoor Channel Shares Soar After New Bidder Emerges

The stock is up 12.6% to $8.50 in post market trading after real estate and sports mogul Stanley Kroenke disclosed that he made a $227M offer, equal to $8.75 a share, for the cable channel company. That tops the $208M, or $8 a share, that Outdoor accepted in November from InterMedia Outdoor Holdings, which owns The Sportsman Channel. The agreement became controversial: Several shareholders alleged that the terms undervalued Outdoor and provided them with too little information about how the deal was made. But proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services this week urged investors to support the deal at a special vote on March 13. Kroenke could present a formidable challenge. He owns the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche — and has enlisted Allen & Co for financial advice and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for legal support. InterMedia can collect a $6.5M breakup fee if Outdoor decides not to go through with their deal.