Apollo Management to acquire West Corp for $5.1bn

Communication and network infrastructure provider West Corp has agreed to a $5.1bn buyout from private equity group Apollo Global Management.

West Corp said it had accepted an offer for all outstanding shares in its common stock for $23.50 a share in cash from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo, according to an announcement late on Tuesday night.

The company said the purchasing price represents a premium of about 17.5 per cent over West Corp’s closing price on November 1, when the infrastructure company announced it would be exploring strategic and financial alternatives.

West Corp said its board of directors had unanimously approved the offer and that stockholders owning approximately 45 per cent of West’s common stock had committed to vote in favour of the transaction. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017 subject to regulatory approvals.

We believe this transaction achieves our goal of maximizing value for West stockholders and positions the Company for continued success. Apollo values our team, assets and vision for the future.

Matthew Nord, senior partner at Apollo, said:

West is the leader in global conferencing and collaboration services, and is well-positioned to capitalize on customer migration to cloud-based solutions and continue to grow its Safety Services, Interactive Services and Health Advocate Solutions businesses.

Apollo, which manages $192bn in assets, deployed a record amount of capital during 2016 and saw fourth-quarter profits rise to $167m, or 87 cents per share, for the three months ended December, from $6.1m a year earlier.