June 16 (Reuters) - At Home Group Inc accepted a raised cash offer of $37 per share from private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman for the home decor chain, months after an earlier bid from the private-equity firm faced opposition from hedge fund Honest Capital.
Plano, Texas-based At Home Group said the new offer represented a premium of about 21% to the closing stock price on May 4, a day before reports of a potential deal surfaced. The initial offer of $36 per share represented a premium of about 17%.
Honest Capital said in May, in a letter to At Home, the initial offer from Hellman & Friedman was too low a valuation, given the company's plans to more than double the number of its stores to 600.
At Home's largest shareholder CAS Investment Partners had also said, according to a letter obtained by Reuters, it would vote against the deal, saying the first offer grossly undervalued the home decor chain.
"This price increase represents our best and final offer," Hellman & Friedman Partner Erik Ragatz said in a statement on Wednesday.
H&F will commence a tender offer around June 23 to acquire all outstanding shares of At Home's common stock, At Home Group said.
Honest Capital could not be immediately reached for a comment, and CAS did not immediately respond.