Monday, March 17, 2008

Amazon.com Completes Tender Offer for Audible

Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com announced Monday that it has completed its tender offer for all outstanding shares of Audible Inc., a provider of Web-based spoken-word audio. The offer expired Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern. At that time, Amazon explained, some 21.5 million shares of Audible common stock—equivalent to 86.9 percent of the company's outstanding shares—had been entered into the deal and not withdrawn. Those shares, combined with the 2.5 percent that Amazon owned prior to the offer, represent 89.4 percent of Audible's outstanding shares. Amazon said it will pay $11.50 each for those shares, plus a number of newly issued shares, to give it a 90 percent ownership. Amazon added that it later intends to complete the merger and make Audible a wholly owned subsidiary. Audible is headquartered in Newark, N.J.