Vista Equity Partners to acquire Solera for $3.74 bn

Solera Holdings Inc, a provider of technology services to insurance companies, said it had agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners for $3.74 billion in cash.

The transaction would be expected to enhance the position of Vista, as an acquirer of data companies and enterprise application software.

The deal is the largest in the history of Vista, a person familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported.

The offer price of $55.85 per share represented a 13-per cent premium to Texas-based Solera's share price on Friday, when the stock was up 3.9 per cent at close.

The value of the deal was based on Solera's outstanding shares as of 25 August and including debt the deal was valued at around $6.5 billion, Solera said.

The deal, which was not subject to any financing condition, would be financed through a combination of common and preferred equity contributions by investment funds affiliated with Vista, Koch Equity Development, and an affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co, according to Solera's statement.

Following the receipt of the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors of the Solera board, Solera's board of directors unanimously approved the Merger Agreement and the merger, and recommended that Solera stockholders vote their shares in favour of the merger.

"This transaction delivers immediate compelling value to our stockholders and represents a pivotal milestone for Solera in partnering with Vista," said Tony Aquila, Solera's founder, chairman and CEO.

"It not only recognizes our innovative company and talented employees, but also provides us with the optimal flexibility to proliferate our world-class solutions and services for our customers. We are extremely excited about working with Vista to further strengthen Solera's global leadership in risk and asset management technologies."

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Solera," said Robert F Smith, Vista's founder, chairman and CEO.

"For almost half a century, Solera has been serving the insurance and automotive industries with innovative software and information solutions.  With the portfolio of products the company had built and acquired, combined with the vision of its leadership, we believe Solera is incredibly well positioned for the next fifty years. The mission is clear and the opportunity is there to continue to transform how physical assets are managed and insured."