SentinelOne has hired investment bank Qatalyst Partners to advise on discussions with potential acquirers, including private equity firms, the sources said.
Initial expressions of interest did not meet SentinelOne’s valuation expectations, and it is possible that the company ends the talks without a deal, one of the sources added. The sources did not specify the price SentinelOne has been seeking.
Spokespeople for SentinelOne and Qatalyst did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
For me it is simple. They wouldn’t be considering selling the company, and especially at such a low multiple, unless the Board and Management were really discouraged. After all, the July quarter has already finished, even if it hasn’t been reported yet, and if they had a great, blow-out quarter, or even what would be considered a very good quarter, they wouldn’t dream of selling out. They must be discouraged and losing hope for the business. That’s just my opinion by the way, and don’t take it as a fact, or something you should act on.
Saul
Because when a company sells they always ask, and try to get, about 30% over the market stock price. Apparently though they are having trouble finding a buyer willing to go that high.
I agree, they will report earnings next week so we’ll have the answer soon. I would think the sale puts some kind of floor on the valuation for the time being, unless the sale process unwinds. However if we get a disaster earnings next week, what are all the new buyers going to do? The only positive I can see for the company is if they were able to achieve a valuation significant above its current market cap, otherwise why not just stay public. Why go through all of this for a 15-30% rise in stock price, and not focus on executing on the market opportunity. Too many questions for now.
generally speaking these types of situations arise when an acquirer approaches a company with an offer to buy it. The board must then exercise their fiduciary duty to make sure they can’t get a better deal. In this particular situation, two private equity firms control majority of voting shares in the company. My guess is that they are trying to take it private given the valuation.