The offer values the Toronto-based tech firm at $1.34 billion
Canadian technology firm Dye & Durham Ltd. confirmed that it received an unsolicited takeover bid for $20 a share, but said it isn’t in negotiations with any buyer. The shares dropped.
Recommended Videos
Bloomberg News reported Monday that a company controlled by former chief executive Matt Proud made the buyout approach in a letter to the board. The offer values Toronto-based Dye & Durham at about $1.34 billion, which would be a 37 per cent premium to Monday’s closing price.
The company, which provides software and services to the legal industry, didn’t name Proud in its statement and said it was disclosing the bid because market regulators in Canada asked it to. It described the offer as a “non-binding, conditional and indicative proposal, lacking in any material detail as to its financing.”
Shares fell 12 per cent to $12.92 as of 9:57 a.m. in Toronto. The stock has five buy ratings, one hold and zero sells, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Proud stepped down as CEO last year amid a proxy fight with shareholders for control. He took the company public in 2020.
Last week, the software company shuffled its board, with chair and interim CEO Hans Gieskes leaving both roles. Sid Singh was named interim CEO and Arnaud Ajdler became chairman. Ajdler is founder of Engine Capital LP, the activist shareholder that led the proxy fight.
Dye & Durham went on an acquisition spree after its initial public offering. It has since been forced to reconsider its growth strategy because of concerns about high leverage.