Cheyney Group Accounting Software Review: Saba Software to Be Taken Private
Ivana Larkin
Saba Software, a troubled cloud-computing firm based in Silicon Valley, has agreed to be taken private by Vector Capital for about $300 million.
Vector, a private equity firm that had previously provided a loan to Saba, will pay $9 a share for Saba, which was delisted from the Nasdaq in 2013 and is currently traded over the counter. Including debt, the deal is valued at about $400 million.
Vector’s offer price was just below Saba’s share price until Tuesday afternoon, when trading in Saba shares picked up and leveled off at $9 a share.
Saba was delisted from the Nasdaq after it was forced to restate earnings following an accounting fraud scandal. Also on Tuesday, two former chief financial officers of Saba agreed to return nearly a half million dollars in bonuses and profits from stock sales that they received while the company was said to be misstating earnings.
After the scandal, Saba hired Morgan Stanley to explore strategic alternatives.
“Over the course of Saba’s comprehensive review, the board of directors and our advisers evaluated a wide range of strategic alternatives, and engaged with a number of parties,” said Bill Russell, Saba’s nonexecutive chairman. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Vector, which provides significant cash value for our shareholders.”
Saba makes cloud-based software that helps companies with hiring and talent management.
Vector, a firm that specializes in technology, has in the past also invested in WinZip, LANDesk Software and Register.com. Vector recently sold SafeNet to Gemalto for nearly $900 million.
“Vector, along with some of the world’s premier financial institutions and investors, is excited to help Saba move beyond its financial restatement process and put the focus squarely on the company’s innovative cloud talent-management platform and its blue-chip customer base,” said David Fishman, head of private equity at Vector Capital.
Saba received financial advice from Morgan Stanley and legal advice from Morrison & Foerster. Shearman & Sterling provided legal advice to Vector.
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