Analyst sees up side of depressed stock prices: More take-private deals

Private equity-led acquisitions of publicly traded companies have gotten a boost from low stock prices in a trend that’s expected to continue in 2023, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a research note. These so-called take-private deals have been led since 2021 by Elon Musk’s $41 billion take-private of Twitter Inc., followed by the $16.6 billion acquisition of Citrix Systems Inc. by Vista Equity Partners LLC and Evergreen Coast Capital Corp., and the $15.4 billion purchase of McAfee Corp. by a consortium led by Advent International Corp. and Permira Ltd. With one month left in 2022, U.S. volumes and fees are already ahead of 2021’s totals. Given the high amount of capital that private equity firms have raised in recent years and discounted stock price valuations in the technology space and other sectors, “the high pace of take-private transactions is ripe to continue into 2023,” analysts said.

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