(Reuters) -Blackbaud Inc on Monday rejected a buyout offer from its largest shareholder Clearlake Capital that valued the software firm at $3.78 billion.
Clearlake made an offer of $71 per share in cash, a premium of nearly 23% to Blackbaud’s Friday close.
Blackbaud’s shares were up 15% at $66.99 in premarket trading on Monday, paring some gains from earlier when it disclosed the offer.
The board unanimously determined that the proposal significantly undervalues Blackbaud, the company said.
High inflation, weak consumer demand and the Ukraine crisis have slammed global stocks with the tech sector among the worst hit.
That has made some software companies acquisition targets for private equity firms although the lack of bank debt financing has weighed on deal-making activity.
Blackbaud provides donor management software for non-profit organizations, foundations and corporations.
Clearlake, which has about $70 billion in assets under management, made an initial investment in Blackbaud in 2020 and currently has an 18.3% stake.
The private equity firm has been snapping up software firms as remote and hybrid working trends fueled demand for cloud services. It bought management software provider Cornerstone OnDemand and Quest Software in 2021.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shounak Dasgupta)
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