Hedge fund Sculptor accepts sweetened $720 million buyout bid from Rithm

(Reuters) -Sculptor Capital Management on Friday agreed to a sweetened buyout deal from Rithm Capital that values the hedge fund at about $719.8 million, and secured the backing of its founder who had earlier opposed the acquisition.

Under the terms of the amended deal, real estate investment trust (REIT) Rithm will acquire Sculptor for $12.70 per share, about 14% higher than its first offer of $11.15 per share in July.

Sculptor had also fielded takeover interest from a rival group that included high-profile fund managers such as Boaz Weinstein, Bill Ackman, Marc Lasry and Jeff Yass, which offered a higher bid of $13.50 a share.

Sculptor founder Dan Och and other executives, who had sued the hedge fund earlier this month to halt a deal with Rithm, are now on board with the latest offer.

“We are pleased to have helped negotiate a better outcome for Sculptor shareholders,” Och said in a statement.

Sculptor’s board unanimously approved the new offer from Rithm that represents a nearly 6% increase from its most recent offer of $12 made earlier this month.

Och and the other former executives, who account for about 15.2% of Sculptor’s outstanding voting shares, said they will vote in favor of the deal.

They also agreed to dismiss their pending litigation.

Sculptor shares climbed 2% before the bell to $12.70, the price that Rithm has agreed to pay.