Outdoor Channel Holdings yesterday said that it has “received an unsolicited" $227M takeover bid from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, according to Andy Vuong of the DENVER POST. Outdoor in November “agreed to merge with InterMedia Outdoors Holdings in a deal that valued Outdoor stock at $8 a share.” However, Outdoor's BOD has "authorized discussions" with KSE, which “offered to acquire Outdoor's roughly 25.9 million outstanding shares for $8.75 per share in cash.” KSE President & CEO Jim Martin said that KSE Owner Stan Kroenke “personally owns 1.25 million shares of Outdoor, representing a nearly 5 percent stake.” KSE through its Altitude Sports & Entertainment RSN also “owns 50 percent of the World Fishing Network.” The Outdoor Channel “reaches 36 million U.S. households.” Outdoor shares “surged nearly 15 percent” yesterday “to close at $8.65 a share” (DENVER POST, 3/5). Meanwhile, in N.Y., Andrew Ross Sorkin noted InterMedia's prospective deal for the channel has "inspired a debate" about whether InterMedia Managing Dir Leo Hindery's "backing of Democrats who support stricter gun-control laws would alter programming and scare away advertisers" (NYTIMES.com, 3/4).
