HFS to Buy Tax Preparer Jackson Hewitt

HFS Inc. said it agreed to buy rapidly growing tax-preparation company Jackson Hewitt Inc. for $480 million in cash. Virginia Beach, Va.-based Jackson Hewitt, whose stock has surged about seventeenfold over the last year, plans to double the number of its offices this year, to about 1,900. The HFS offer of $68 a share represents a 32% premium over Jackson Hewitt’s Tuesday closing price of $51.50. Jackson Hewitt said its board rescinded its previously announced 2-for-1 stock split. Parsippany, N.J.-based HFS, with an eye on the baby-boomer market, has been expanding into various businesses. Its brands now include Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Ramada Inn and Avis Rent-a-Car. Jackson Hewitt stock rose $15.44, or 30%, to close at $66.94 on Nasdaq; HFS shares rose 25 cents to close at $68.06 on the New York Stock Exchange.