Skechers Just Raised Its Offer To Hedge Funds Suing Over The 3G Buyout

Summary:

• Skechers raised its settlement offer to hedge funds challenging 3G Capital's $63-per-share buyout that closed last September.
• Around 60 investment pools holding roughly $1.3 billion of Skechers stock have filed appraisal claims in Delaware.
• Elliott alone holds an estimated $400 million of the disputed stock.

Six months ago, hedge funds turned down Skechers' first peace offer over the price of the $9.4 billion buyout.

Now Skechers is back with a higher number. The appraisal cases are still active in Delaware.

The Fight Over A $9.4 Billion Deal

3G Capital took Skechers private last May at $63 a share, a $9.4 billion deal that closed on September 12.

The price looked like a win at the time, landing about 30% above where the stock was trading.

But Skechers had been beaten up earlier in the year. The stock fell close to 30% after the company pulled its annual forecast in April and warned about tariff damage from new Trump duties.

Hedge funds saw a company being sold at the bottom of a tariff-driven slump, so they sued.

There's another issue with how the sale got done. The Greenberg family controlled about 58% of the voting stock and approved the deal by written consent, so minority shareholders never got to vote.

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Why Delaware Is The Battleground

Roughly 60 investment pools have filed what's called an appraisal action in Delaware's Court of Chancery.

An appraisal action lets shareholders ask a judge to set a "fair" price for their stock when they think the deal was too cheap.

The pools include AQR Capital Management affiliates, and Elliott is sitting on about $400 million of the disputed stock on its own.

Together, the claims cover roughly $1.3 billion of Skechers stock and more than 10 million shares, with at least five separate cases filed since the deal closed.

The argument: the buyout undervalued Skechers because the stock was tariff-bruised when the deal got done.

That kind of bet used to be common in Delaware before lawmakers cut into it years ago by changing how interest accrues on disputed shares.

The size of these claims is bringing it back.

What To Watch

Settlement talks fell apart last November after Skechers offered just a small bump above $63. The new offer is higher than that.

If it isn't enough to close out the appraisal cases, the fight heads to a Delaware judge, where appraisal cases often side with the deal price but not always.

Big payouts have happened before. For now, $1.3 billion in stock is sitting in court waiting on a number.

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