A Few Surprises About the Year's Biggest Take-Private
Advent International, Bain Capital and Berkshire Partners today announced an agreement to acquire Skillsoft (Nasdaq: SKIL), a Dublin, Ireland-based provider of e-learning and performance support SaaS solutions. The $1.1 billion deal is the year’s largest take-private, and represents a 10.66% premium over yesterday's closing price. The buyout firms secured debt financing from Morgan Stanley and Barclays Bank, which consists of a $40 million senior secured revolving facility, a $435 million senior secured term loan and a $240 million senior unsecured interim loan. That equates to a $385 million equity check, presumably split evenly between the three sponsors. On a conference call for the deal this morning, analysts and shareholders seemed unimpressed by both the price and the opportunity for a counterbid.
