What happened
Shares of Anaplan (PLAN) charged sharply higher on Monday, surging by as much as 28.1% in early trading. As of 10:49 a.m. ET, the stock was still up by 27.7%.
The catalyst that sent the cloud-based work-planning specialist higher was news that it is being taken private.
So what
Anaplan announced on Sunday that it had reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by leading software investment firm Thoma Bravo for $66 per share. That price represents a premium of 30% compared to the stock's closing price on Friday. It also represents a premium of approximately 46% to the volume-weighted average price of Anaplan stock for the five-day period that ended on March 18, according to a press release issued by the company.
Image source: Getty Images.
The all-cash transaction values Anaplan at roughly $10.7 billion. The company said the deal has already been approved by its board of directors and is expected to close in the first half of 2022.
"Anaplan is a clear leader in connected planning, solving critical business priorities for the world's largest enterprises as they implement strategic and complex digital transformations," said Holden Spaht, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo.
Now what
Anaplan's stock had been punished in recent months, losing as much as one-third of its value. High-growth stocks with lofty valuations have been hit particularly hard during the recent market correction. The premium being offered by Thoma Bravo merely brings Anaplan to within striking distance of its recent highs, so whether it's a good deal for shareholders is up for debate.
Needham analyst Scott Berg weighed in on the acquisition. "We think the transaction valuation is reasonable for a company we expected to grow revenue at greater than a 30% annual rate in [fiscal 2023] with a leading position in a large market opportunity," he wrote in a note to clients on Monday. He went on to call the price "highly opportunistic and advantageous" for Thoma Bravo.
The stock was trading just a few percentage points below the offer price, suggesting investors don't expect a competing offer to emerge.
