Asta Funding, Inc. Announces Going Private Transaction

Price Represents a 36.9% Premium to the Closing Price on April 7, 2020

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., April 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asta Funding, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASFI) (“Asta” or the “Company”) today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) under which the Stern Group, comprised of Gary Stern, Ricky Stern and certain related parties, will acquire the outstanding publicly held shares of common stock of Asta through the merger of Asta with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asta Finance Acquisition Inc. (“Parent”), with Asta surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Merger”).

Each share of outstanding common stock will be purchased for $11.47 in cash. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 36.9% to Asta’s closing stock price on April 7, 2020, the last trading day prior to this announcement. 

The Merger was unanimously approved by the board of directors of Asta (the “Board”), acting on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors (the “Special Committee”) that was granted full authority to conduct a comprehensive strategic review and evaluate, and if warranted, negotiate an acquisition proposal.

The Merger will be financed by a committed loan facility provided by Bank Leumi USA.

The Merger is expected to close in Asta’s third fiscal quarter of 2020 and is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions as well as the approval by Asta’s stockholders other than the Stern Group. The Asta Board recommends that Asta’s stockholders vote to adopt and approve the Merger Agreement. Upon closing, Asta will become a privately held company and as such, the Company’s shares of common stock will no longer be listed or traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Advisors

Lincoln International LLC is serving as financial advisor to the Special Committee, Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Special Committee, and Pepper Hamilton LLP is serving as legal counsel to the Company.

Additional Information About the Merger

Asta will file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which will more fully describe the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement and the proposed Merger. The 8-K will be available on the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov).

In connection with the Merger, the Company will file with the SEC a proxy statement on Schedule 14A as well as a Schedule 13E-3 Transaction Statement (the “Schedule 13E-3”). This press release is not a substitute for the proxy statement or Schedule 13E-3 that the Company will file with the SEC. INVESTORS IN, AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF, THE COMPANY ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED MERGER AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the proxy statement and Schedule 13E-3 (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by the Company through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or by contacting Seth Berman at Asta by telephone at [phone] or by e-mail at [e-mail].