Outdoor Channel Holdings said yesterday that its board has decided a bid from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment was superior to an existing pact with InterMedia.
A board statement came a day after Kroenke, the owner of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche US professional sports teams, said it had delivered a definitive counterproposal to buy Outdoor for $8.75 per share in cash.
InterMedia, run by cable veteran Leo Hindery, had offered $8 per share.
Outdoor announced on Nov. 16 it had agreed to merge with InterMedia in a cash-and-stock deal valued at roughly $208 million.
Outdoor said the board had notified InterMedia it wants to terminate their agreement. InterMedia has four business days to respond.
If Outdoor accepts Kroenke’s offer, it would have to pay InterMedia, which also operates the Sportsman Channel, a breakup fee of $6.5 million.
Outdoor, which features programming aimed at hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts, said on March 4 that it had received an unsolicited bid from Kroenke and that the board had authorized discussions with the rival bidder.