Vista Equity to take Active Network private in $904 mln deal

Vista Equity will make a tender offer of $14.50 per share, representing a 27.2 percent premium to Active Network’s Friday closing. (Full Story)

The stock was trading at $14.39 before the bell on Monday.

The company, whose customers include Cisco Systems Inc, IBM Corp, Starbucks Corp and audio company Bose Corp, has not made an annual profit in its 15 years of existence.

Active Network’s software helps users reserve campsites, sign up for marathons and buy fishing or hunting licenses. The company gets most of its revenue from registration and reservation fees paid by participants.

Walt Disney Co holds a 10 percent stake in Active Network and IAC/InterActivecorp owns 7.4 percent.

Active Network had 61.68 million shares outstanding as of May 15, according to the company’s latest filing.

Vista Equity, which invests mainly in software companies and has about $7 billion in capital commitments, has acquired three other companies this year.

It bought security software vendor Websense Inc for $907 million in May and acquired chipmaker Qualcomm Inc’s fleet management software unit, Omnitracs Inc, for about $800 million in August. (Full Story) (Full Story)

It offered to take medical software provider Greenway Medical Technologies Inc private for $644 million last week. (Full Story)

Active Network is being advised by Citi, while BofA Merrill Lynch is the financial adviser to Vista Equity.

BofA Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, and BMO Capital Markets Corp will provide debt financing for the deal.

Sruthi Ramakrishnan and Chandni Doulatramani are reporters for Reuters News in Bangalore