The boards of directors of Columbus Acquisition Corp. and Integrated Drilling Equipment Company have each unanimously approved the acquisition of IDE by Columbus.

Under the merger agreement, all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of IDE will be acquired by Columbus in exchange for:

• $43 million in cash;

• shares of Columbus common stock having a value of $50 million; and

• additional shares of Columbus common stock having a value of up to $156 million (Columbus will have the right to offer to pay up to 20% of the additional consideration in cash rather than in shares of Columbus common stock)

Immediately following the completion of the merger, the former stockholders of IDE are expected to own between 26.3% and 32.1% of the outstanding shares of Columbus common stock (or between 59.5% and 66.1% if additional consideration is paid in full in shares of Columbus common stock), depending on the number of Columbus stockholders that exercise their right to have their shares converted into cash.

Columbus intends to use the cash on its balance sheet following completion of the transaction to finance its operations and provide capital for acquisitions.

If stockholders do not approve the merger proposal, it is likely that Columbus will not be able to consummate the merger and will be forced to liquidate.

Click here for the preliminary proxy