The Smith family this morning revealed it is looking to take SMI private, announcing that the Sonic Financial Corp. that it privately owns has made a bid to acquire all of SMI's shares not already controlled by the family. The announcement indicates that the Sonic has made a bid to acquire such shares at $18.00 a bid, and that the family intends to keep and carry on the motorsports promoter business, should the acquisition be successful. However, taking the company private would theoretically make a possible eventual sale easier because the family would now fully own it and would no longer be subject to shareholder consideration. SMI owns eight speedways and three dragstrips, along with scores of real estate and other auto-focused revenue streams. SMI has formed a special independent committee that will represent non-Smith shareholders during the process. This comes as the France family tries to take ISC private via NASCAR’s bid, and it would be another seismic step for the sport. SMI was trading at $13.94 heading into today’s trading before its stock quickly rose to the $18.00 range to match the bid. In a letter to shareholders and employees reviewed by THE DAILY today, SMI President & CEO Marcus Smith noted his family has been promoting races for decades and "intends to do so for many years to come." Smith: “This proposal re-emphasizes that commitment to the sport.” Smith added that its tracks will continue to operate as normal during the bid process and that SMI will not be commenting further in the interim.
