Software company Enfusion draws takeover interest from private equity, Irenic Capital
26/06/2023 23:28
(Adds stock price)
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Software company Enfusion
Inc ENFN.N is attracting takeover interest from private equity
firms and strategic buyers, several people familiar with the
matter said.
Enfusion's management has been approached in recent months
by Francisco Partners, Vista Equity Partners and investment firm
Irenic Capital Management, said the sources who asked not to be
identified because the talks are private.
Enfusion, which provides cloud-based portfolio management
and risk systems to investment funds, is valued at roughly $1
billion. Since going public in 2021, Enfusion's shares have lost
more than half of their value. The stock climbed 19.93% on
Monday to close at $11.04.
The company has experienced turbulence in the top ranks,
with its chief executive officer and chief financial officer
resigning just months apart from one another last year.
Most recently, Irenic has held multiple meetings with new
CEO Oleg Movchan about a proposed transaction at a premium to
the share price, two sources said.
Representatives for Francisco, Vista, Irenic and Enfusion
did not respond to requests for comment.
There is no certainty that a deal will occur.
Irenic, launched a little over a year ago, may work with a
private equity firm with expertise in software companies to
pursue the purchase, one of the sources said.
Irenic, which was co-founded by Elliott Management veteran
Adam Katz and former Indaba Capital partner Andy Dodge, recently
worked with private equity giant Apollo Global Management to buy
industrial parts manufacturer Arconic.
Katz and Dodge met as college students at Harvard where Katz
went on to earn business and law degrees before moving to
Elliott where he worked on the proxy battle that the hedge fund
waged at Arconic.
While deal activity has slowed this year, software companies
focused on financial services have continued to attract
attention from potential buyers.
Earlier this month, Nasdaq acquired Adenza for $10.5 billion
and, in April, Deutsche Boerse said it was buying SimCorp for
$4.3 billion.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss
Editing by Nick Zieminski and Richard Chang)
((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))