Paul Bilzerian

Singer Co., unable to find an alternative offer for merger or acquisition, said its board believes that a $1.05-billion or $50-a-share tender offer by a group led by Florida investor Paul Bilzerian is acceptable. In announcing its decision late Sunday night, the board stopped short of recommending the Bilzerian offer to shareholders, saying that it was concerned about the availability of financing. The board's worries over financing sent Singer's stock plunging to $43.50, off $5.

Singer Co. said Monday that it wants to be bought or merged with another company by the end of the year, an event that will keep it free from corporate raider Paul A. Bilzerian and possibly win it a better price than his $1.05-billion offer. Last week, Singer said it was talking with a number of potential suitors, domestic and international, but that the group did not include the one investor who has made a $50-a-share bid for the company, Florida-based Bilzerian.

Investor Paul Bilzerian, whose chances of acquiring Singer Co. for $1.05 billion appear slim because of the company's hostility, is urging that the company be auctioned to the highest bidder, it was disclosed Friday. The Tampa-based investor's $50-a-share bid for Singer was rejected earlier this month and Thursday the company said it was talking to other potential suitors, but not Bilzerian.

Singer Co. advised its shareholders Friday to reject an unsolicited $1.06-billion tender offer from a group led by Paul Bilzerian and said that it had sued the Florida investor for allegedly violating securities laws in mounting the bid. The $50-a-share offer was inadequate and "contains many uncertainties," including the ability to raise financing for completing the offer, chairman William F. Schmied wrote in a letter to shareholders.

A $1.08-billion unsolicited offer for Singer was made Monday by Florida investor Paul A. Bilzerian, who disclosed last Thursday that an investor group he leads had purchased nearly 10% of the aerospace firm's stock. The offer was the first significant hostile acquisition effort since the stock market crashed two weeks ago.

A group led by Florida investor Paul A. Bilzerian said Thursday that it owns nearly 10% of Singer Co. and might try to take control of the big defense electronics firm. Bilzerian, a 37-year-old investor who made a fortune in Florida real estate but has yet to succeed as a takeover artist, started accumulating Singer shares in August but accelerated his buying after last week's stock market plunge.

At a hearing today, a federal judge will decide whether to continue blocking Paul Bilzerian from acquiring a controlling stake in Kent, Wash.-based Pay 'N Pak Stores Inc. The judge had issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday against the Tampa, Fla.-based investor, who attempted to add a 41% stake in the specialty retail chain to his current holdings of about 10%. The company rejected several offers from Bilzerian before agreeing last month to a $21.

Kent, Wash.-based Pay 'N Pak, a specialty retailer of home improvement products with 107 stores in 17 states, agreed to the leveraged buyout by a group that includes Chairman David Heerensperger, topping a rival bid by investor Paul Bilzerian. The cash and securities buyout has an indicated value of $21.23 a share. Tampa, Fla.-based Bilzerian, who holds about 10% of the company's 10 million outstanding shares, had offered $16.67 cash and preferred stock valued at $3.83 for each Pay 'N Pak