Investor group to buy Johns Manville Corp.

DENVER (June 23)—Building products manufacturer Johns Manville Corp. has agreed to be acquired by a private investor group including affiliates of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. and Bear Stearns Merchant Banking. The transaction would be valued at about $3 billion and would pay Johns Manville shareholders $13.625 in cash and a 13-percent pay-in-kind preferred stock with a liquidation value of $2 for each share they hold. Trustees of the personal injury trust that owns 76 percent of Johns Manville´s common stock have agreed to vote for the deal, but it still requires regulatory approval. The trust was created in 1982 to pay past and future asbestos claims against Johns Manville. The deal, if approved, is expected to close by the end of the year.