Bain Capital woos SoftwareOne with bigger offer after initial rejection

The cloud solutions provider said it is “assessing” the more lucrative proposal

Private equity firm Bain Capital has raised its offer to acquire 100 per cent of Switzerland-HQ channel partner SoftwareOne.

The American investment firm initially proposed a takeover for £2.5bn, at CHF 18.50 (£16) per share in June, only to be shut down by SoftwareOne for materially undervaluing the company.

Bain has now put around £2.8bn (CHF 3.2bn) on the table, according to reports from Bloomberg, citing sources with knowledge of the deal.

Bain Capital has been contacted for comment.

While SoftwareOne quickly rejected Bain's first offer on its announcement, the Swiss group said it is currently "assessing" this latest proposition.

"The board of SoftwareOne Holding AG confirms that it has received a second indicative, unsolicited and non-binding offer from Bain Capital for the acquisition of 100 per cent of the company in the range of CHF 19.50-20.50 per share, subject to various conditions," SoftwareOne said in a statement.

"In line with its fiduciary duty, the board is assessing the revised proposal and will make a recommendation that it believes is in the best interest of all shareholders. A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate."

SoftwareOne employs 8,900 people across 90 countries according to its LinkedIn, and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

The group posted revenues of CHF 239.4m (£213.3m) in Q1 2023, representing an increase of 8.7 per cent year on year.

Its chief executive Brian Duffy joined the company in May from SAP after previous CEO Dieter Schlosser handed over the reins following almost four and a half years leading SoftwareOne.