EFI acquisition on the cards

EFI has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of private equity company Siris Capital Group in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.7bn.

EFI's board of directors has unanimously recommended the agreement to shareholders, though it may look at alternative acquisition proposals from third parties during a ‘go-shop’ period over the next 45 calendar days. Subject to that go-shop period, the proposed transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2019. Upon completion of the acquisition, EFI will become wholly owned by an affiliate of Siris. "We believe this transaction delivers superior and immediate value to our shareholders while providing us with a partner that can add strategic and operational expertise to our business," said Bill Muir, EFI CEO. "We are excited to partner with Siris' highly experienced team on this next phase of growth for EFI." Siris invests in technology companies that are facing technology transitions. Its co-founder and managing partner, Frank Baker, said: "EFI is at the forefront of the digital transition in the imaging and print industry, underpinned by a strong software heritage and culture of innovation. We believe that, by partnering with Siris, EFI will be well positioned to capture this transformational opportunity associated with increased digital inkjet penetration, industrial automation and software enablement. We are eager to partner with management to help the Company achieve its strategic objectives." Al Zollar, a Siris executive partner, added: "EFI’s portfolio of mission-critical products and services are united by a common thread of impressive technological enablement and software integration. I look forward to supporting EFI's strong team to help the company anticipate evolving customer needs and drive new opportunities for innovation and growth." The purchase price represents an approximately 45% premium over EFI's 90-day volume-weighted average price ended on April 12, 2019. EFI currently expects Q1 2019 revenue to be between $220 million and $225 million.