(By Balaseshan) Standard Parking Corp. (NASDAQ: STAN), a provider of parking management, ground transportation and other ancillary services, said it has received clearance to close merger with Central Parking Corp.
As part of the agreement, Standard Parking and Central Parking have entered into a stipulation and a proposed final judgment with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that will permit the merger to proceed upon court approval. The parties expect to consummate the transaction promptly.
"We are pleased that DOJ has completed its antitrust review of the merger and that we've been able to reach an agreement that satisfies DOJ's concerns. We look forward to closing the merger and moving forward with our integration plans so that we can realize the transaction's anticipated benefits for our clients, customers and stockholders," said James Wilhelm, chief executive of Standard Parking.
Under the terms of the stipulation and the proposed final judgment filed on September 26, 2012, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Standard Parking and Central Parking will divest contracts and any related interests covering slightly more than 100 off-street parking facilities.
The contracts, which include both leases and management agreements, will be sold, terminated or permitted to expire without renewal. After the contracts and any related interests are divested, the combined entity will continue to manage the parking operations of more than 4,200 parking facilities located throughout the United States.
The agreement with DOJ also will lead to the termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976.
Standard Parking plans to close the transaction in conjunction with the end of its 2012 third quarter. On October 1, the first business day on which Standard Parking and Central Parking will operate jointly, the management team will provide further information regarding the transaction's closing.
STAN is trading down 0.22 percent at $23.07 on Wednesday. The stock has been trading between $14.53 and $24.67 for the past 52 weeks.