Holders Consider Proposal to Take Bibb Co. Private

MACON, Ga. —  Stockholders of Bibb Co. will vote Sept. 23 whether to accept a $25-per-share leveraged buy-out offer from National Textile Co.

According to a proxy statement mailed this week to Bibb Co.’s 2,500 stockholders, National Textile hopes to purchase the Macon-based Bibb Co. and convert the publicly held company into a privately held firm.

Leveraged buy-outs are typically financed with borrowed funds to be repaid from future earnings or sale of assets.

Bibb officials said the company has 1.8 million outstanding shares, which would make the transaction worth about $45 million.

Bibb employs 4,200 at 13 plants in Georgia.

The proxy statement said that Bibb, which reduced its staff by 1,000 during the past year, has actively sought a buyer for the last two years. The statement also said the company would need to spend $35 million over the next three to five years to modernize its plants.

Robinson-Humphrey Co., a stock brokerage firm retained by Bibb, called National’s $25-per-share offer fair “from a financial point of view.”

But Fidelity International Ltd., an 11.6% owner of Bibb’s stock, charged that National plans to sell the company’s assets piecemeal if the proposed deal takes place.