Blackbaud Rejects Clearlake’s $80 per Share Acquisition Offer; Our Fair Value Estimate Unchanged

On May 16, Blackbaud rejected a buyout offer from Clearlake Capital (received on April 14) for $80 per share, representing a 4% premium to the closing price at that time. In a statement, narrow-moat Blackbaud said that its board unanimously agreed that the offer significantly undervalues the company. Prior to the most recent offer, Clearlake made a buyout offer early in 2023 at $71 per share, which represented a 23% premium to the closing price at the time. Clearlake Capital currently holds an 18% stake in Blackbaud. We did not change our $77 per share fair value estimate after the $80 offer, and we are once again maintaining our $77 valuation.