Stern Group, comprised of Gary Stern and Ricky Stern, completed the acquisition of Asta Funding, a diversified financial services company, for $86m. Asta will operate as an independent, privately-held company and will remain based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Asta’s stockholders will receive $13.10 per share in cash. As a result of the closing of the transaction, Asta’s common stock has ceased trading as of today on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and will be delisted.