Data analytics software company Alteryx said Monday it has agreed to be taken private in a deal valued at $4.4 billion. AYX stock fell on the news.
Private equity firms Clearlake Capital Group and Insight Partners are acquiring Alteryx, which went public in 2017. The deal values AYX stock at 48.25 per share, a 59% premium to the company's closing stock price on Sept. 5. That was the last trading day before media reports about a potential sale launched shares of Alteryx higher.
On the stock market today, AYX stock fell 1.6% to close at 47.27.
AYX Stock: Rising On Deal Reports
In a news release, Alteryx said it expects the deal to close in the first half of next year.
"In addition to delivering significant and certain cash value to our stockholders, this transaction will provide increased working capital and industry expertise, and the flexibility as a private company," Alteryx Chief Executive Mark Anderson said in the news release.
Reuters reported last week that Clearlake and Insight were closing in on a deal for Alteryx. Further, Reuters wrote that a series of setbacks and competition from Microsoftand Oracle had suppressed AYX stock's value to the point the company became a takeover target.
AYX stock was down nearly 40% for the year in early September, when Reuters first reported the company was considering a sale. Shares gained following the report but are still off about 7% on the year.
In a client note Monday, analysts at William Blair wrote that Alteryx is selling at a value of 4.1 times its consensus 2024 revenue. That's below the 6.7 revenue multiple typical of software-as-a-service companies, according to the note.
"While the acquisition price is lower than we expected considering recent transactions in the software market, we believe uncertainty around Alteryx's growth profile and the operational changes required in the business make materially higher bids unlikely," wrote William Blair analyst Arjun Bhatia.
