Neustar has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a private investment group led by Golden Gate Capital in a transaction valued at approximately $2.9 billion, including debt to be refinanced.
Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by Neustar’s Board of Directors, Neustar’s shareholders will receive $33.50 per share in cash. This represents a premium of 45 percent to Neustar’s closing stock price on November 11, 2016, the day prior to Golden Gate Capital’s filing of a Form 13F with the SEC disclosing an equity position in Neustar. An affiliate of GIC will also invest in Neustar and will become a minority owner of the Company following closing of the transaction.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which will deliver certain and immediate value to our shareholders,” said James Cullen, Neustar’s chairman of the Board of Directors. “We are confident that today’s announcement represents the best path forward for all of Neustar’s stakeholders.”
Since the beginning of 2011, Neustar has been executing against a multi-year strategic plan to leverage the company’s position in order and inventory management and real-time numbering services, including foundational capabilities in managing complex data sets and authoritative real-time connectivity, to become a market-leading provider of information services. Neustar has built a market position around unique, hard-to-replicate data sets and the data science that provides authoritative identities, updated in real time. At the same time, the Information Services business has been built independent of the Number Portability Administration Center (“NPAC”) operations and data.
“We believe this transaction will enable us to continue to execute against our strategy and strengthen our market position as a leader in marketing, risk, security and communication solutions,” said Lisa Hook, Neustar’s president and CEO. “Golden Gate Capital and GIC offered us a compelling opportunity to continue to invest and pursue long-term growth with operational flexibility, and we look forward to working with these two sophisticated investors. Importantly, customers, employees and partners will continue to benefit as we execute against our strategy.”
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