New York, NY, USA /BUSINESS WIRE/ — An affiliate of Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) (“Apollo”) and GreatolfResorts Inc. (NASDAQ: WOLF) (“Great Wolf” or the “Company”), have announced the successful completion of Apollo’s acquisition of Great Wolf, North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts.
Aaron Stone, a Senior Partner at Apollo Global Management, commented, “We are very excited to have completed the acquisition of Great Wolf. Since the beginning of this process, we have been extremely impressed with Great Wolf, including its management team and the exceptional family destination resorts that it operates.”
Scott Ross, a Partner at Apollo Global Management, added, “We believe that Great Wolf will prove to be a strong addition to the Apollo portfolio of investments and we look forward to working with Kim Schaefer and her talented management team to build upon the Company’s distinctive brand and the incomparable experience Great Wolf offers to its millions of customers.”
Kim Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Great Wolf, said, “All of us at Great Wolf are very excited about partnering with the team at Apollo and what that partnership will mean for our next phase of growth, as well as the benefits it offers to our employees and the communities we serve. Apollo’s proven investment track record and access to capital will facilitate the continued expansion of Great Wolf as a premier family vacation destination.”
The acquisition was effected through an equity tender offer followed by a merger. The tender offer, which was made at $7.85 per share pursuant to the definitive merger agreement entered into among affiliates of Apollo and Great Wolf on March 12, 2012, as amended, expired as scheduled at 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on Friday, May 4, 2012. Excluding shares tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery, a total of approximately 24,054,129 shares of common stock, representing approximately 72 percent of the outstanding shares, were tendered into and not withdrawn from the tender offer. If all guaranteed delivery shares are received, approximately 76 percent of the outstanding shares will have been tendered. According to the terms of the equity tender offer, shares that were validly tendered and not withdrawn have been accepted for payment. The parties subsequently completed the acquisition by merging Great Wolf into an affiliate of Apollo after the closing of the top-up option in accordance with the merger agreement. The Company’s shares ceased trading on the NASDAQ Global Market at the close of market on May 4, 2012, and will no longer be listed.
About Apollo Global Management
Apollo (NYSE: APO) is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong. Apollo had assets under management of more than $75 billion as of December 31, 2011, in private equity, credit-oriented capital markets and real estate funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit http://www.agm.com.
About Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.
Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.® (NASDAQ: WOLF), Madison, Wis., is North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, and, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, owns and operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge® brand. Great Wolf Resorts is a fully integrated resort company with Great Wolf Lodge locations in: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Sandusky, Ohio; Traverse City, Mich.; Kansas City, Kan.; Williamsburg, Va.; the Pocono Mountains, Pa.; Niagara Falls, Ontario; Mason, Ohio; Grapevine, Texas; Grand Mound, Wash.; and Concord, N.C. Great Wolf’s consolidated subsidiary, Creative Kingdoms, LLC, is a developer and operator of technology-based, interactive quest adventure experiences such as MagiQuest®. Additional information may be found on Great Wolf’s website at http://www.greatwolf.com.
