Mauser Group was taken out on Tuesday, the day before its scheduled pricing and just two weeks after tech unicorn AppDyanmics sold itself on the eve of its IPO date. Acquisitions rarely occur after companies decide to begin IPO marketing, but these recent cases highlight a lingering hesitancy to go public, and a strong M&A market continues to offer an alternative. Last week, CBS Radio also went the M&A route instead of an IPO, while PointClickCare withdrew its filing after securing private capital.
| M&A takes 2017 IPOs out of the pipeline | |||||
| Issuer Business |
Symbol Exchange |
Acquisition Size ($m) |
M&A Date |
Top Bookrunners |
|
| Mauser Group Amsterdam, Netherlands |
MSR NYSE |
$2,300 |
2/7/17 | BofA Citi |
|
| CD&R-backed global supplier of industrial rigid packaging products. |
|||||
| CBS Radio New York, NY |
CBSR NYSE |
$1,500* |
2/2/17 | Goldman Sachs BofA |
|
| Second-largest US radio station operator being spun out of CBS. |
|||||
| PointClickCare* Ontario, Canada |
PCLK Nasdaq |
$85** |
2/1/17 | JP Morgan Goldman Sachs |
|
| Provides cloud-based software management solutions for long-term care facilities. |
|||||
| AppDynamics San Francisco, CA |
APPD Nasdaq |
$3,700 |
1/24/17 | Morgan Stanley Goldman Sachs |
|
| Provides application performance management software for large enterprises. |
|||||
| *CBSR deal size is Renaissance Capital estimate. **PCLK deal was growth equity funding. | |||||
Mauser Group (MSR) was purchased by PE firm Stone Canyon Industries for $2.3 billion from CD&R, a 9% premium to the proposed IPO valuation at the midpoint. Stone Canyon plans on merging Mauser with its own industrial packaging subsidiary, BWAY.
Tech unicorn AppDynamics (APPD) was acquired by Cisco for an eye-popping $3.7 billion, a 68% premium to its the proposed IPO valuation at the high end of the upwardly revised range.
CBS Radio (CBSR) bypassed an IPO and will combine with Entercom (NYSE:ETM) in a tax-free Reverse Morris Trust merger. The new radio platform will reportedly command a market cap of $2.0 billion.
PointClickCare (PCLK) received $85 million in funding led by Dragoneer Investment Group. The care facility software provider withdrew its filing, but it may consider the public market in the future according to CEO Mike Wessinger.
