Misys Takeover Battle Gets Last Minute Entrant in ValueAct

Misys, the core banking and financial services software firm that is in talks with Swiss rival Temenos about an all-share merger, has received a last minute bid from ValueAct, the activist investor that owns 21% of the shares.

The vendor already has another bidder in Vista Equity Partners which has offered a £1.2bn cash offer. ValueAct has teamed up with a different private equity player, CVC Capital Partners, to explore the possibility of a last minute hi-jacking of Temenos’ all-share deal, which must be formalised by 5pm tonight under stock market rules. Vista’s offer has until 19 March, while the last minute entry into the takeover battle by ValueAct has until 2 April to formalise its offer – if the process gets that far of course.

The growing list of suitors for Misys drove its shares up on the London Stock Exchange and means the software firm has a chance to perhaps match the 400 pence per share offer it received from FNIS last year. With the clock ticking on the agreed Temenos deal, which would mean Guy Dubois leading the merged entity as chief executive officer (CEO), the existing head of the Swiss vendor may have to introduce a cash element into the deal to clinch the agreement.

Comments are closed.