UK $1.5 bln software buyout is fittingly cheap

Investors in Blue Prism may be disappointed. The British company, whose software helps customers like Daimler automate back-office tasks, on Tuesday accepted a 1.1 billion pound offer from buyout group Vista Equity Partners. As recently as Sept. 6 the company’s market capitalisation was about one-tenth higher, as shareholders expected a more generous bid. Vista is getting Blue Prism for an implied enterprise value of 4.7 times 2022 revenue, based on the median Refinitiv estimate, compared with rival UiPath’s 23 times multiple.

Yet the deal is appropriately cheap. Rival bidders have had ample time to make a higher offer. Blue Prism’s growth is slowing: analysts expect a compound annual rate of 13% up to 2024, compared with 88% since a 2016 initial public offering. It needs to invest in new products to fight off U.S. technology giants like Microsoft, but negative EBITDA and a puny 127 million pound cash pile mean it has little firepower. Blue Prism’s share price is a mere 3% above the offer. The chances of a meaningful bump look slim. Reuters