Tenn.: Calera Capital and TPG Close Acquisition of Direct General Corp

Calera Capital, formerly Fremont Partners, and TPG Capital, formerly Texas Pacific Group, announced the completion of the acquisition of Direct General Corp. by an affiliate of Calera and TPG.

Prior to the acquisition, Direct was a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: DRCT). The transaction was originally announced by the company on December 5, 2006.

Under the terms of the transaction, Direct stockholders are entitled to receive $21.25 in cash for each share of common stock, without interest and less any withholding.

Headquartered in Nashville, the Direct group is a provider of non-standard personal automobile insurance, term life insurance, premium finance and other consumer finance products.

Direct’s subsidiaries distribute their products through over 500 company-owned retail stores in 13 states, primarily in the Southeast.

In conjunction with the closing of this acquisition, Direct appointed Daniel Tarantin as chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors.

William Adair, the company’s current chairman and CEO, has retired but will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors.

At the close of business on March 30, Direct’s stock stopped trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

National City Bank has been appointed paying agent in connection with the merger and will be charged with mailing a letter of transmittal and instructions to all Direct stockholders of record. The letter of transmittal will provide instructions to stockholders on how to surrender their shares of Direct stock in exchange for the merger consideration.

Source: Direct General Corp.