Shares of TNS Inc., a provider of data services for credit card transactions, plunged Wednesday after the company rejected a reduced buyout offer.
The offer was made by a group led by the company's former chief executive, John McDonnell Jr., to buy the company for $16 a share. The bid is "inadequate" because it "substantially undervalued" the company, TNS said in a press release Tuesday evening.
Mr. McDonnell's group offered last month to buy the Reston, Va., company for $20 per share, but on Monday it submitted the lower revised bid.
Henry Graham, TNS' chief executive, said in a press release that the company was "surprised" that Mr. McDonnell's group had reduced its offer "so dramatically" and that it reflected "a pessimistic view" of the company's prospects.
TNS shares were down 12.94% in midday trading Wednesday, at $17.15, but had gone as low as $16 earlier. This was the steepest drop since August, when the company rejected an earlier buyout offer from Mr. McDonnell.
