Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY) announced that it has enetered into a definitive merger agreement which it will be acquired by one of the nation’s leafing investment firms, The Gores Group. Total enterprise value of the transaction is an estimated $1 billion.Under the terms of the merger agreement, The Gores Group will acquire all the outstanding common shares of Pep Boys for $15.00 per share in cash. This represents a premium of 24% percent over Pep Boys’ closing price of $12.08 on January 27, 2012 and a premium of 36% percent over Pep Boys’ volume weighted average closing price over the last 30 trading days. The transaction is currently expected to close in the second fiscal quarter of 2012.Following completion of the transaction, Pep Boys will become a privately held company and its stock will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Pep Boys noted that, in light of the proposed transaction, it will not host a conference call to discuss financial results for the 2011 fiscal year, but intends to file its year-end results with the SEC.PEP Boys is currently above its 50-day moving average (MA) of $11.09 and above its 200-day of $11.22.
