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RealPage rejects near-$2bn offer from Vista [New Vision (Uganda)]
[November 01, 2014]

RealPage rejects near-$2bn offer from Vista [New Vision (Uganda)]


(New Vision (Uganda) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) RealPage, which sells property management software for landlords, has received a takeover offer from buyout group Vista Equity Partners, valuing it at close to $25 a share or almost $2bn. Texas-based RealPage rejected the formal bid, which was made within the past few weeks. According to people familiar with its thinking, it is not planning to enter negotiations.



Vista's offer represents close to a 50 per cent premium over RealPage's market value of $16.11 a share before the Financial Times reported interest in the company last week. RealPage attracted buyout groups after disappointing earnings caused its share price to slump to just above its 2010 initial public offering value. Vista owns 4.8 per cent of the company and could agitate for a sale if RealPage continues to rebuff its advances. Other parties have also expressed interest in buying the company, according to people familiar with the matter, but it is unclear if any have yet made a formal bid. The largest shareholder in RealPage is Stephen Winn, the company's chairman and chief executive, who owns 32.6 per cent of the stock. Before being taken public, RealPage was owned by Apax, the London-based private equity group. Deals in the technology industry have boomed this year as private equity and strategic buyers look to take advantage of a plentiful supply of cheap capital. The $230bn of technology deals so far this year compare with $156bn for the same period in 2013, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

While the headlines have been dominated by larger tech deals such as Facebook's $22bn purchase of WhatsApp, much of the dealmaking has been focused on the unglamorous but essential end of the technology sector. SAP, the German software company, acquired Concur, a developer of programs that help businesses manage travel expenses, in an $8.3bn deal, while Micro Focus, a UK-provider of enterprise software, said it would acquire US rival Attachmate in an all-share transaction valuing the combined business at $2.35bn. This month, UK semiconductor maker CSR was sold to US rival Qualcomm for $2.5bn in an all-cash deal. San Francisco-based Vista and Chicago rival Thoma Bravo have been among the most acquisitive of the technology-focused financial sponsors. Vista, which last month acquired business software maker Tibco, has recently finished raising a $5.8bn fund. Vista declined to comment. RealPage said it did not comment on market rumour and speculation.


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