New York hedge fund Elliott, led by billionaire Paul Singer, has announced that it made a takeover offer to Athnahealth that was all-cash in nature. The organization valued Athenahealth at a staggering $6.46 billion, but the online platform offering providers ease in managing their practices said that its board would review the proposal and then announce their decision.
Interestingly, New York-based RBC Capital Markets Analyst George Hill sees the offer price to be low and expects it to be ultimately rejected by athenahealth. He said, “An offer from Elliott could also be an attempt to draw out other bidders for ATHN and to push a sale to a strategic acquirer as Elliott notes that other parties have also expressed interest in ATHN.”
On the other hand, Elliott announced that it may substantially improve the offer following additional private diligence.
Elliott became interested in Athenahealth when it first approached the Health IT Company for a take-private transaction. The fund’s offer was rejected and Athenahealth officials refused to take part in any discussions with Elliot. The fund remains resilient in its decision and continues its attempts at acquiring Athena.
Elliott Senior Portfolio Manager Jesse Cohn wrote in a letter that Athenahealth “has not worked for many years, is not working today and will not work in the future.” Adding “The case for going private is compelling and cannot be ignored.”
According to a news source, Elliott owns an 8.9 percent stake in Athenahealth. The fund has been stirring for changes for almost a year, but of no avail. The slow pace of change employed by athenahealth has frustrated Elliott as the fund believes the most prudent way forward is to either sell the Health IT company to a rival or go private. Elliot believes the 110 million patient records stored in the cloud by Athenahealth to be really attractive to numerous buyers and sees no difficulty in selling the company. , including potentially Anthem Inc., CVS Health Corp., UnitedHealth Group or other health-care or technology companies.
“Even a cursory review of the company’s public track record leads to the conclusion that the business and its shareholders have been deprived of significant value due to the company’s execution failures,” Elliot said in a letter.
