Shares of K-12 ed-tech company Arco Platform (NASDAQ:ARCE) are up nearly 15% at the time of writing after it agreed to go private in a merger deal with Achieve Holdings and Achieve Merger Sub at a purchase price of $14 per share in cash.
Impressively, the acquisition tag points to a 55% premium over Arco’s closing price on November 30, 2022 (a day prior to its receipt of the proposal). The transaction pegs the total enterprise value for the company at $1.5 billion.
Further, a special committee made up of Arco’s independent directors has recommended the transaction and consequently, the company’s Board has approved the deal. The transaction is expected to close in the final quarter of 2023 or the first quarter of 2024 and remains subject to closing conditions.
Upon closing, Arco will transition into private ownership and its shares will cease to trade on NASDAQ. At the same time, the company’s founders will have a controlling voting interest (88%) post-merger.
Arco shares have now gained nearly 11.7% over the past three months. At the same time, short interest in the stock is now hovering at nearly 5.7%.
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