Rackspace Reaches $4.3 Billion Deal to Go Private

Managed cloud company Rackspace has reached a deal to go private after weeks of speculation that it was in advanced talks with a private equity firm, with its board voting unanimously to sell the company to Apollo Global Management for $4.3 billion.

Rackspace (RAX) shares are up 4 percent on Friday upon news of the deal, which is expected to close in Q4 2016. Shareholders will receive $32 per share in cash, which represents a premium of 38 percent when compared to it’s unaffected closing stock price on Aug. 3, 2016, the last trading day prior to news reports speculating a transaction, Rackspace said in a statement.

“This transaction is the result of diligent analysis and thoughtful strategic deliberations by our board over many months,” Rackspace co-founder and chairman of the board Graham Weston said in a statement. “Our board, with the assistance of independent advisors, determined that this transaction, upon closing, will deliver immediate, significant and certain cash value to our stockholders. We are also excited that this transaction will provide Rackspace with more flexibility to manage the business for long-term growth and enhance our product offerings. We are confident that as a private company, it will be best positioned to capitalize on our early leadership of the fast-growing managed cloud services industry.”

“We are presented with a significant opportunity today as mainstream companies move their computing out of corporate data centers and into multi-cloud models,” CEO Taylor Rhodes said. “Apollo and its partners take a patient, value-oriented approach to their funds’ investments, and value Rackspace’s strategy and unique culture. This is an exciting transaction for Rackspace and we look forward to working closely together.”

The news comes shortly after Rackspace shed its Cloud Sites unit, selling the business and transitioning employees on that team to Liquid Web, a web and cloud hosting company based in Michigan.

Source: http://bit.ly/2bMnGpE