Tom Hudson, the head of Pirate, said, "We are very pleased with the proposed merger". Hudson said his firm encouraged the company to take initiatives to benefit all of their shareholders for some time.
Pirate noted they began accumulating its 22% stake at $21.61 per share over the last eleven months for an average purchase price of $26.03 a share (indicating a 29% gain on the investment).
Pirate Capital has been the subject of much negative speculation related to redemptions following the hedge fund's fall 2006 shake-up.
