Equity Firm Acquires Accredited

Lone Star U.S. Acquisitions LLC, a private equity firm, will purchase Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., San Diego, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $400 million.Dallas-based Lone Star will pay $15.10 per share for all of Accredited's common stock. The deal was made before the market opened on June 4. On June 1, Accredited's stock closed at $13.76 per share. As of late morning on June 4, it was up to $15.33 per share, a gain of $1.57 on the day, and $0.23 above the Lone Star offer. The sale is a culmination of the shifting that Accredited's management had to do in order to keep the company going. There have been layoffs, a change in accountants and threats of delisting from the Nasdaq composite index. This also included receiving a $230 million term loan from Farallon Capital Management LLC in April. The loan has a five-year term and may be repaid by Accredited at any time over the life of the loan, subject to certain conditions and prepayment fees. In connection with the financing, Farallon received warrants to acquire approximately 3.23 million shares of the company's stock at an exercise price of $10 per share.