$95M buyout offer in mushroom industry

SAXONBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The world's largest seller of mushroom spawn has agreed to a $95 million buyout offer from a group of investors and mushroom industry veterans.
Saxonburg, Pa.-based Sylvan Inc. agreed Sunday to the cash and debt offer from a group led by Snyder Associated Companies Inc. and Sylvan President Dennis Zensen. Snyder, a family-owned business, is a key investor in Creekside Mushrooms in Worthington, Pa., as well as oil, gas and manufacturing firms.
Under the deal, which needs approval from shareholders and regulators, Sylvan shareholders would receive $12.25 in cash per share and the new owners would assume as much as $35 million in debt.
The deal comes five months after a scuttled $56 million buyout offer from a group that also included Zensen and Snyder.
Sylvan, which employs about 850 people in Saxonburg and has a spawning production plant in Kittanning and a mushroom farm near Tallahassee, Fla., had $88.2 million in sales last year and turned a $4.7 million profit.
Company officials said Sylvan hopes to complete the buyout next year.