Active Network Inc (NYSE:ACTV) has agreed to an acquisition by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in a cash-only deal worth $1.05 billion. Active is a leader in online registration for business conferences, marathon and other events.
The San Diego,CA based Active Network Inc (NYSE:ACTV), according to a statement today, will tender and offer to acquire all its outstanding shares of common stock at $14.50 per share. The offer places a 27 percent premium over its closing price last Friday. The board has endorsed the offer and urges its stockholders to accept the company’s offer.
Acquisition will allow Active Network to restructure company
According to Andre Sequin, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, the acquistion will allow Active to go private restructure the company before a return to public trading. Last May, both Chief Executive Officer Matthew Landa and Chairman David Alberga resigned their positions though each remained on the board.
“There’s an opportunity to clean it up away from the public eye,” Sequin said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Active as a public company again in about five years.”
Non-tendered shares to be acquired
Non-tendered shares will be acquired in a second-step merger at the cash price that Active Network Inc (NYSE:ACTV) is presently offering. At the time of this writing (10:53 AM in New York), Active was trading at 14.35, up nearly 26 percent.
“The partnership with Vista will position us to execute on our strategy and further enhance our industry leadership,” Jon Belmonte, Active’s interim CEO, said in the statement. “For our customers, we will continue to focus on delivering the strongest product offerings through our advanced technology platform.”
Active Network Inc (NYSE:ACTV) expects the deal to close before the end of the fourth quarter, according to the statement.
Company thrilled to be valued over a billion dollars
Active Network Inc (NYSE:ACTV) claims the State of California and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), along with many others, has customers and has been the target of a buyout long before agreeing to the Vista deal. While analysts had expected Active Network Inc (NYSE:ACTV) to be acquired around $800 million, the company will be well chuffed to have been valued over a billion dollars. Based on takeover speculation, Active Networks’ shares have more than doubled this year.
