Contact: Brenon Daly
The sum total of all interested parties in SumTotal Systems may well be greater than the two that have already disclosed themselves. At least that’s the thinking among investors – or rather, speculators – in the learning management software vendor. Recall that earlier this month, Vista Equity Partners tossed the struggling company an unsolicited offer of $3.25 for each share. (Vista is being advised by Union Square Advisors.) As we noted, the bid included a ‘go-shop’ provision.
SumTotal never got back to Vista on its offer, but it did throw its arms around a slightly richer one from Accel-KKR on Friday. The white knight bid $3.80 for each SumTotal share, valuing the company at about $124m, or $20m more than Vista’s offer. However, we would note that SumTotal shares have traded slightly above Accel-KKR’s offer price since the bid was unveiled. (On Monday afternoon, SumTotal stock was changing hands at $3.85.) Like Vista’s initial offer, Accel-KKR’s included a go-shop provision. On that front, it seems like the shopping may not be done for SumTotal.