Hellman & Friedman agreed to lead an $11 billion acquisition of Ultimate Software, a Weston, Fla.-based provider of human capital management cloud software.
Why it matters: No one on the outside seemed to see this mega-deal coming. There were zero media reports about a pending takeover, and neither Goldman Sachs nor Deutsche Bank were even covering the company until last week (when DB's "buy" rating clearly beat out Goldman's "neutral").
Other investors in the buy-side consortium include The Blackstone Group, GIC, CPPIB and JMI Equity. The deal includes a 50-day "go shop" provision, during which time Ultimate Software can solicit superior offers.
The bottom line: The $331.50 per share price represents over a 19% premium to Friday's close price, but just about matches its $330.73 all-time high set last September.
