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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Big News: Blackbaud Purchases Convio

UPDATE: Here is a video from Blackbaud announcing the acquisition.

UPDATE 2: Updated the blog post with new information.

We had some big news break in the nonprofit sector this morning, as Charleston, S.C.-based Blackbaud announced the acquisition of rival software firm Convio of Austin, Texas, for $275 million.

The acquisition would give the combined organizations an annual revenue of $440 million, free cash flow of $66.5 million, and net debt of $240 million.  Blackbaud will acquire all outstanding shares of Convio's common stock for $16 per share.  The purchase is expected to finalized during the first quarter of this year.

Some things to note about the acquisition:
  • According to Jane Eggers, senior vice president of products and marketing at Blackbaud, only a "small handful of people" at the organization knew the acquisition was happening.
  • Executives at both firms had been talking about a deal for years, but the timing wasn't right up until a few months ago.
  • Convio President and CEO Gene Austin will join Blackbaud in a leadership post.  He will report to Blackbaud President and CEO Marc Chardon.
  • There was no mention about the future of Convio co-founder Vinay Bhagat.  Eggers told NPT that it wasn't something she could speak to before the deal closes.
  • The deal will be structured as a cash tender offer followed by a merger. 
  • Blackbaud will finance the transaction through existing cash balance, expansion and extension of the company’s current debt facility, as well as newly issued syndicated debt.
Read more on The NonProfit Times' website.

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