Methode repurchase from big shareholder collapses

CHICAGO, July 14, 2003; Reuters reporterd that Auto parts supplier Methode Electronics Inc. METHB.O METHA.O , which faces a tender offer from Dura Automotive Systems Inc. DRRA.O , said on Monday that a major shareholder has ended an agreement to sell all of its Class B shares back to the company.

William J. McGinley Marital Trusts and related family members previously had agreed to sell their Class B shares back to Methode for $20 a share.

Dura, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, last week launched a cash tender offer for Methode's 1.1 million Class B shares at $23 a share.

Holders of Methode's Class B shares -- about 3 percent of all Methode shares -- are entitled to elect 75 percent of the company's board of directors.

Methode, based in Chicago, has said it will hold a special meeting of Class A stockholders on July 24. The meeting, originally scheduled for July 10, was postponed after Dura made its unsolicited tender for Methode's Class B stock.