Under the terms of the agreement, Siris will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Digital River for $26.00 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 50 percent over the closing price on October 23, 2014, and 67 percent over Digital River’s volume weighted average share price during the 90 days ended October 23, 2014.
The agreement was approved by Digital River’s Board of Directors, which recommended that Digital River’s stockholders adopt the agreement with Siris.
Under the terms of the agreement, Digital River may solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties during a 45-day "go-shop" period, following the date of execution of the merger agreement. There is no guarantee that this process will result in a superior proposal. A special meeting of Digital River’s stockholders will be held as soon as practicable following the filing of a definitive proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and subsequent mailing to stockholders.
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Siris, which provides significant value to our shareholders and represents a clear endorsement of our transformation strategy, our industry leading ecommerce and payments solutions, our 1,300 global experts and our deep commitment to clients," said David Dobson, Digital River’s CEO.
"With 20 years of global ecommerce expertise, Digital River has a leading market position and significant global growth potential in the Commerce-as-a-Service market," said Dan Moloney, Siris Capital Executive Partner.
Siris has secured committed financing consisting of a combination of equity and debt. The equity financing will be provided by an investor group led by Siris and the debt financing will be provided by Macquarie Capital and Sankaty Advisors.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of shareholder approval and the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, but is not subject to any financing condition. Upon completion of the acquisition, Digital River will become wholly owned by an affiliate of Siris. The transaction is currently expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.
For further information regarding the terms and conditions contained in the definitive merger agreement, please see Digital River’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which will be filed in connection with this transaction.
