Private equity firm STG to buy Avid Technology in $1.4 bln deal (updated)

Avid Technology

09/08/2023 22:29

(Changes sourcing, adds details on deal in paragraph 3 and
share price in paragraph 4)
    By Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen
       NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Avid Technology  AVID.O 
said on Wednesday it had agreed to go private in an all-cash
deal with an affiliate of Symphony Technology Group (STG) that
valued the media editing software company at about $1.4 billion.
    Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters first reported that private
equity firm STG was nearing a deal to acquire Avid, citing
people familiar with the matter. 
    Avid said STG will buy the software company for $27.05 per
share in cash. Excluding debt, equity value of the deal comes up
to $1.19 billion.
    The deal represents a 32% premium to Avid's closing share
price on May 23, the day before Reuters reported the company was
exploring a sale. Shares of Avid have risen nearly 30% since.
    Founded in 1987, Avid provides editing software and hardware
primarily to entertainment industries. Its products, which have
been used in the production of blockbuster movies such as "Top
Gun: Maverick" and "Avatar: The Way of Water," include Media
Composer, MediaCentral and AirSpeed.
    An activist hedge fund and Avid's largest shareholder,
Impactive Capital LP, has representation on the Burlington,
Massachusetts-based company's board after cutting a deal with
the company in 2019.
    Palo Alto, California-based STG is a mid-market private
equity firm focused on technology investments. Earlier this
year, STG struck a deal to take Momentive Global Inc, the parent
company of SurveyMonkey, private in a $1.5 billion deal.  
    STG currently manages about $10 billion of assets and has
invested in more than 50 companies in the technology industry.

 (Reporting by Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen in New York; editing
by Jonathan Oatis and Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Anirban.Sen@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @asenjourno; Reuters
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