Nearmap has agreed to a $1 billion takeover offer from a US private equity company that invests in software and technology companies.
Thoma Bravo is offering to pay $2.10 per share in the Sydney-based aerial mapping company, a 67 per cent premium to their six-month volume weighted average price before the acquisition offer became public last week.
At 10.58am AEST, Nearmap shares were up 4.6 per cent to $2.055.
""The Board believes the proposed all-cash offer represents attractive value and provides an immediate opportunity for shareholders to realise certain value at a significant premium to the market," Nearmap chairman Peter James said.
The proposal is expected to be put to Nearmap shareholders in November. The Foreign Investment Review Board and US regulators must also approve.
"Beyond regulatory approvals ... we think this is essentially a done deal," Macquarie Research said in a note to clients.
The transaction could be completed by late November, Nearmap said.
Thoma Bravo has already completed due diligence and the $114 billion private equity fund, one of the largest in the world, does not require financing.
Founded in Perth in 2008, Nearmap uses planes to frequently capture high-quality 3D aerial imagery covering much of Australia, the United States of New Zealand.
The images are then made available via a subscription service to a broad range of customers.
"We believe Nearmap's insights are increasingly mission-critical to enterprises and the use cases rapidly evolving, as evidenced by the Company's accelerating adoption with blue-chip customers in North America," said Thoma Bravo senior partner AJ Rohde.
"We look forward to working closely with (Nearmap CEO) Rob Newman and the highly-innovative Nearmap team to continue scaling Nearmap in its next chapter as a private company."
