Blackbaud spurns Clearlake's sweetened $4.3 bln takeover offer
16/05/2024 14:21
May 16 (Reuters) - Blackbaud BLKB.O rejected a
sweetened $4.3 billion takeover offer from Clearlake Capital
Group, saying it significantly undervalued the cloud software
provider.
This is the second time that Blackbaud has spurned the
overtures of its largest shareholder, which has been swooping
down on software companies as it bets on demand for
cloud-related services.
The private equity firm made its latest offer last month,
valuing each share of Blackbaud at $80, compared with the $71
per share offered in March last year.
Blackbaud said in a letter to Clearlake's board on Wednesday
that the firm's "indication of interest significantly
undervalues the company and is not in the best interests of all
Blackbaud stockholders."
In March, Blackbaud's board terminated its shareholder
rights plan that was adopted in October 2022 to prevent any
entity from acquiring a stake of more than 20%.
Blackbaud shares have gained 23% since Clearlake announced
its initial interest in the company in March last year. The PE
firm owns an 18.89% stake in Blackbaud according to LSEG data.
Clearlake, along with Francisco Partners, recently agreed to
buy the software integrity (SIG) unit of chip designer Synopsys
SNPS.O .
It has bought several other companies such as Cornerstone
OnDemand and Quest Software.
Clearlake did not immediately respond to a Reuters request
for comment on Blackbaud's rejection.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
((HarshitaMary.Varghese@thomsonreuters.com;))