SPAC Sponsored by Greenhill Announces Further Progress Toward Acquisition of Iridium with Warrant Restructuring
July 29 2009 - 9:34AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Greenhill & Co.,
Inc. ("Greenhill") (NYSE:GHL) today announced that GHL Acquisition
Corp. ("GHL Acquisition") (NYX: GHQ, GHQ.U and GHQ.WS), the special
purpose acquisition company sponsored by Greenhill, has entered
into agreements with certain warrantholders as a result of which
approximately 26.8 million warrants issued by GHL Acquisition,
including 4.0 million warrants held by Greenhill, will be
repurchased or restructured upon closing of its acquisition of
Iridium Holdings LLC ("Iridium"). The warrants subject to these
agreements, combined with those subject to previously disclosed
agreements relating to warrant repurchases or forfeitures,
represent approximately 69% of the 44.1 million GHL Acquisition
warrants that would otherwise have been outstanding following the
acquisition of Iridium. The effect of the agreements with
warrantholders is to significantly reduce the number of fully
diluted GHL Acquisition shares that will be outstanding following
completion of the acquisition of Iridium. The acquisition of
Iridium remains subject to Federal Communications Commission
approval, as well as approval by GHL Acquisition shareholders.
After reflecting today's agreement, and previously announced
warrant forfeitures by Greenhill, Greenhill's stake in GHL
Acquisition post-closing would include: (i) approximately 6.9
million GHL Acquisition common shares, which it received for
founding GHL Acquisition and making an $8.0 million equity
investment; (ii) upon conversion, approximately 1.9 million GHL
Acquisition common shares resulting from conversion of its $22.9
million convertible note investment in Iridium; and (iii) 4.0
million GHL Acquisition warrants with an out-of-the-money strike
price as described below. Summary terms of the warrant
restructuring are as follows: -- Approximately 12.4 million
existing warrants will be repurchased by GHL Acquisition for a
total of approximately $3.1 million of cash and approximately $12.4
million of GHL Acquisition common shares, with the number of shares
to be determined based on the offering price per common share of
GHL Acquisition (subject to a minimum of one-tenth of a share per
warrant) in a future equity offering which will be conditioned upon
the closing of the Iridium acquisition. -- Approximately 14.4
million existing warrants will be restructured to increase their
strike price to 115% of the offering price per common share of GHL
Acquisition (subject to a maximum strike price of $11.50) in a
future equity offering which will be conditioned upon the closing
of the Iridium acquisition and will have their expiration date
extended by two years to February 2015. The approximately 14.4
million warrants being restructured in this manner include the 4.0
million remaining private placement warrants held by Greenhill that
have not been forfeited and 0.4 million warrants currently held by
Scott L. Bok, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GHL
Acquisition, and Robert H. Niehaus, Senior Vice President of GHL
Acquisition. -- The above warrant repurchases and restructurings
are in addition to the previously announced repurchase of
approximately 3.7 million GHL Acquisition warrants currently owned
by Banc of America Securities LLC for approximately $1.8 million in
aggregate and also in addition to Greenhill's previously announced
forfeitures of approximately 12.4 million warrants, both of which
will occur concurrently with the closing of the Iridium
acquisition, should it occur. -- At the closing of the acquisition,
including the effects of all warrant restructurings announced to
date, there will be approximately 13.7 million GHL Acquisition
warrants with a $7.00 strike price outstanding and approximately
14.4 million GHL Acquisition warrants with an out-of-the-money
strike price as described above. GHL Acquisition currently
anticipates that the agreements announced today will constitute the
last adjustment of valuation-related or other terms of the planned
acquisition and currently anticipates holding its shareholder vote
on the Iridium acquisition in September 2009. Closing of the
acquisition is subject to, and will occur as soon as practicable
following, a favorable shareholder vote and also remains subject to
approval by the Federal Communications Commission. Forward-Looking
Statements and Other Disclosure This press release contains certain
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "anticipates,"
"may," "can," "believes," "expects," "projects," "intends,"
"likely," "will," "to be" and other expressions that are
predictions of or indicate future events, trends or prospects
identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of Greenhill or GHL Acquisition to differ materially
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, uncertainties
regarding the timing of the proposed transaction with Iridium,
whether the transaction will be approved by GHL Acquisition's
stockholders, whether the closing conditions will be satisfied
(including receipt of regulatory approvals), as well as industry
and economic conditions, and competitive, legal, governmental and
technological factors. There is no assurance that Greenhill or GHL
Acquisition's expectations will be realized. If one or more of
these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Greenhill or GHL
Acquisition's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or
projected. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
of this press release or as of the date they are made, and, except
as required by law, Greenhill undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements. This press release is for informational
purposes only and does not constitute an offer of any securities
for sale. Contact: Richard J. Lieb, Chief Financial Officer
Greenhill & Co., Inc. (212) 389-1800 DATASOURCE: Greenhill
& Co., Inc. CONTACT: Richard J. Lieb, Chief Financial Officer
of Greenhill & Co., Inc., +1-212-389-1800
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