Wired shareholders to vote on Lycos merger
Wired Digital shareholders are set to vote on the company's proposed merger with Lycos next month, despite opposition to the deal by some of Wired's founding investors.
Shareholders will vote on the merger June 21 in a special shareholders' meeting at a San Francisco law firm, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The merger is expected to go forward, given that investors and directors who hold a majority of Wired Ventures' capital stock and its series C preferred stock have agreed to vote in favor of the merger, the filing said.
During the meeting, investors will be asked to approve the merger and reorganization plan in the presence of founder Louis Rossetto and executives from Wired Ventures and Lycos, among others. If the merger is approved, Wired Ventures will become the new wholly owned subsidiary of Lycos.
No shareholder proposals are on the table asking investors to reject the merger.
In February sources said a shareholder dispute was underway regarding terms of the $83 million stock swap deal. The merger proposal, announced last fall, caused ire between the institutional investors holding the series C stock, who wanted to increase the proceeds of the deal that would come their way, and the series A investors, which included original employees and shareholders.
Under the merger proposal, Wired Ventures shareholders would receive Lycos common stock and cash in exchange for their Wired shares.
Since the deal was announced last October it has faced several delays in setting a closing date. Sources attributed the delays to pending approval from the SEC to move forward with the deal.
Earlier this month Lycos and USA Networks agreed to scrap the proposed merger of the two companies due to a lack of shareholder support. Since then the companies have agreed to cross-market across each other's Web properties.
Lycos has stated that it plans to explore acquisition opportunities in the e-commerce space. Analysts believe the company also could begin shopping itself around for another suitor once it becomes eligible for pooling-of-interest accounting in the fall.
News.com's Jim Hu contributed to this report.