Hellman & Friedman leads acquisition of Ultimate Software

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.

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