Freescale Buyout Gets Shareholder Go-Ahead

By Colleen Taylor -- Electronic News, 11/13/2006

The private equity buyout of Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has gotten a green light from shareholders.

The company announced today that the acquisition of Freescale by a consortium of private equity firms has garnered shareholder approval in a landslide vote.  According to Freescale, approximately 99 percent of stockholders present and voting at the latest meeting adopted the merger agreement, under the terms of which Freescale stockholders will be entitled to receive $40 per share at the time of closing. The number of shares voting to adopt the merger agreement represents approximately 73 percent of the total number of shares outstanding and entitled to vote, the company said.

The company currently expects the transaction to be completed subject to customary closing conditions during Q4.

The Austin, Texas-based Freescale settled on plans for a $17.6 billion buyout in September after considering multiple options for the company's direction following its 2004 IPO, including a mulled-over merger with the semiconductor division of Royal Philips Electronics. Earlier this month, Freescale announced it is offering a total of $5.95 billion in senior notes as part of a funding program for its buyout plan.