SoftwareOne has rejected a $3.2 billion Bain Capital offer to acquire the Switzerland-based company.
The proposed deal, described by SoftwareOne as an “indicative, unsolicited and non-binding offer,” was made by Bain Capital to acquire 100 percent of the company at 18.50 CHF (Swiss franks) per share. At Thursday’s exchange rate, that is about $20.51 per share.
Supporting Bain Capital on the offer are three investors in SoftwareOne who collectively hold about 29 percent of the company’s share capital, including Daniel von Stockar, B. Curti Holding AG, and René Gilli, SoftwareOne said.
von Stockar is the co-founder of SoftwareOne and currently sits on the company’s board of directors. He served as chairman of the board until April. Gilli served on the company’s board of directors until spring of 2022.
The SoftwareOne board of directors rejected the offer as not in the best interest of the company.
In a statement the board said it was confident in the progress made to date and is convinced the offer significantly undervalues the current and future valuation of the company.
“SoftwareOne remains fully focused on delivering its strategy and the successful execution of its operational excellence program to drive growth and efficiencies across the organization and enable re-investment into strategic growth areas, with the aim of delivering profitable growth and long-term value for all shareholders,” the company said in the statement.
