Epicor has shot down an unsolicited offer from a hedge fund, confirming a move that the market had been expecting in the wake of the credit market collapse. The ERP vendor, which is being advised by UBS, told Elliott Associates that it wasn’t interested in the two-week-old bid of $9.50 for each share of Epicor. Although shares initially approached the $9 level on the news, the stock bottomed out at $6 last week. The gigantic spread reflects widespread doubt that Elliott and Epicor would strike a deal. With about 59 million shares outstanding, Elliott’s offer values Epicor’s equity at about $566m. In addition, Epicor holds $132m in cash and $380m in debt, giving the proposed deal an enterprise value of $814m. Elliott owns 12% of Epicor. We noted even before the credit bubble burst that Elliott might have a tough sell with Epicor.
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