A sign of the times, the deal will get done, just a month later..
-Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) (NYSE: MO) and UST Inc. (UST) (NYSE: UST) today announced that the companies have amended the September 7, 2008 agreement pursuant to which Altria has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of UST. The amendment sets forth Altria’s and UST’s agreement to extend, at Altria’s option, the closing date of the transaction to a date that is no later than early January 2009 in the event conditions for closing are met prior to the end of 2008. While Altria currently has fully committed financing to complete the transaction, Altria’s lenders advised that it would be preferable to close the transaction in 2009. The parties also agreed to increase the “reverse termination fee” from $200 million to $300 million under certain circumstances, which are detailed in the amendment. In addition to the regulatory review process, completion of the transaction remains subject to UST shareholder approval and certain other customary closing conditions. The agreement and the amendment are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 8 and October 3, respectively.
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