NovaMed sued over $13.25-a-share buyout
NovaMed Inc., the operator of 37 outpatient surgery centers in 19 states, was sued by a shareholder who contends a planned $214 million takeover by Surgery Center Holdings Inc. undervalues the company.
Directors of Chicago-based NovaMed have an obligation to get the best possible price and should reconsider the sale procedures, Alfred Hiltbrunner said in a Delaware Chancery Court complaint filed yesterday
The transaction “comes at a time when the company's stock price is undervalued but its prospects for growth and increased revenue are substantially increasing as the economic recession is ending,” lawyers said in court papers filed in Wilmington.
NovaMed, with $156.4 million in 2009 revenue, said Jan. 21 it would be acquired for $13.25 a share in cash by Surgery Center Holdings, an affiliate of private-equity firm HIG Capital LLC. The deal includes assumption of $105 million in debt.
Scott Macomber, NovaMed chief financial officer, didn't immediately return voice and e-mail messages seeking comment on the lawsuit.
NovaMed fell 2 cents to $13.13 at 10:42 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has risen 17 percent in the past year.
The case is Hiltbrunner v. NovaMed, CA6173, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).