Notable Mergers and Acquisitions of the Day 9/3: KO, FRME/LNCB, HRB

September 3, 2008 9:40 AM EDT

• The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) announced plans to make cash offers to purchase China Huiyuan Juice Group Limited, a Hong Kong listed company which owns the Huiyuan juice business throughout China.
  
  The Coca-Cola Company is offering HK$12.20 per share, and an equivalent price for outstanding convertible bonds and options.
  
  The Company has accepted irrevocable undertakings from three shareholders for acceptance of the offers, in aggregate representing approximately 66 percent of the Huiyuan shares.
  
  Assuming full acceptance of the offers, the deal is valued at approximately US$2.4billion. The transaction is expected to be dilutive to the Company’s earnings per share by $0.03 to $0.04 in the first full year following completion of the acquisition and accretive to earnings per share in year 3 after completion.
  
  
• First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ: FRME) and Lincoln Bancorp (NASDAQ: LNCB) today announced they have executed a definitive agreement for First Merchants Corporation to acquire Lincoln Bancorp through a merger of Lincoln into First Merchants.
  
  First Merchants and Lincoln will have combined assets of $4.7 billion and create the largest financial holding company based in Central Indiana. The combined company will have eighty-two banking offices in twenty-three Indiana and three Ohio counties, a trust company with assets under management in excess of $1.7 billion, and a multi-line insurance agency.
  
  The merger agreement provides that shareholders of Lincoln will have the right to elect to receive cash in the approximate amount of $15.76 per share, or 0.7004 shares of First Merchants common stock for each share of Lincoln common stock owned by them, subject to proration as a result of a maximum limit on the aggregate number of shares issued or cash paid to all Lincoln shareholders. Based on First Merchants' September 2, 2008 closing price, the transaction value is estimated between $74 million and $77 million depending on the elections of shareholders.
  
  The transaction is expected to be completed in Q408.
  
  
• H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the operator of its franchise units in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas for approximately $278 million in cash.
  
  In fiscal year 2008, H&R Block Houston LLC and a group of related companies served approximately 760,000 clients and had system-wide revenues of more than $140 million. Because of the age of the Block Texas franchise agreement, it included an unusually low royalty blended rate of 6% on revenues, compared with a contractual rate of 30% on new franchise agreements.
  
  The transaction is expected to close at or somewhat before the end of the Company's fiscal 2009 second quarter ending Oct. 31, 2008. Completion of the transaction is expected to add approximately $34 million in after-tax free cash flow during fiscal 2009, and somewhat larger amounts in future years. The Company expects the transaction to add approximately $0.05 to earnings per share in fiscal year 2009, and $0.03 for fiscal 2010.

To see all the Mergers & Acquisitions for today in real-time go to http://www.streetinsider.com/Mergers+and+Acquisitions

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