Are Athenahealth Shareholders Getting Enough in This Go-Private Offer?
Athenahealth shares are jumping on Monday after it was announced that Elliot Management wants to take the company private.
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Athenahealth Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) shares jumped on Monday after it was announced that Elliot Management wants to take the company private. This is an unsolicited bid and the company has yet to respond. Either way, shareholders should be happy.
According to the proposal, Elliot Management wants to acquire Athenahealth for $160 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 27% from Friday’s close of $126.08. Elliot Management currently owns about 8.9% of Athenahealth.
It is worth pointing out that the stock had massively dropped in the past two weeks. The 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $140.67 and $134.23, respectively, represent premiums of 13.7% and 19.2%, respectively.
Excluding Monday’s move, Athenahealth had outperformed the broad markets, with the stock up about 25% in the past 52 weeks. In just 2018 alone, the stock was down 5%.
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Elliot Management also released its letter to the board of directors detailing its intentions:
Elliott has done an extensive amount of work to understand athenahealth’s business, its mission and its position in the broader healthcare landscape. We believe that athenahealth has great potential with a differentiated opportunity to fundamentally change the Healthcare IT (HCIT) industry. While we may (or may not) differ on the road ahead, we recognize the unique and powerful accomplishments that have taken place at athenahealth due to Jonathan’s vision.
Unfortunately, we are faced now with the stark reality that athenahealth as a public-company investment, despite all of its promise, has not worked for many years, is not working today and will not work in the future. Given athenahealth’s potential, this reality is deeply frustrating, but the fact remains that athenahealth as a public company has not made the changes necessary to enable it to grow as it should and to create the kind of value its shareholders deserve.
Elliot Management had approached Athenahealth back in November, but the company refused to engage.
Shares of Athenahealth were last seen up about 15% at $145.76 on Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $145.58 and a 52-week range of $102.63 to $158.66.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
