Harte-Hanks shares closed 53% higher on August 14 after Star Equity Holdings announced it had agreed to acquire the company at $5.00 per share in a combination of cash and preferred stock, according to an 8-K Star Equity filed with the SEC that morning.
Shares closed at $4.30, up from a previous close of $2.81, on dollar volume of about $20.8 million across 46,269 trades. The free float stood at about 3.9 million shares. Short volume on the session was 515,283 shares, representing 44.15% of reported volume.
The offer values Harte-Hanks at roughly $38.4 million in total equity, according to Star's 8-K. Up to 50% of the consideration — about $19.2 million — will be paid in cash, with the balance going to Star's 10% Series A Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, a fixed-dividend instrument listed on Nasdaq. No Star common stock will be issued in the deal.
The agreement includes a 30-day go-shop period — a window in which Harte-Hanks and its advisers may solicit competing offers — running to September 13, 2026. Closing also requires a Harte-Hanks stockholder vote and SEC approval of a Form S-4 registration statement for the preferred shares. Star says it expects the deal to close before year-end 2026, with Harte-Hanks continuing to operate under its own name.
The $4.30 close sits below the $5.00 offer, which reflects the conditions still to be met. Harte-Hanks' 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2026, filed the same day, showed cash of about $5.2 million and a net loss of about $5.6 million for the first half of the year.