Sales tax vendor Avalara has been sold to Vista Equity Partners for $8.4 billion. Although two shareholders groups opposed the sale, with the support of Avalara management, the deal was approved overwhelmingly.At a special meeting held October 14, the vote was 70,370,083 shares for and 11,274,618 against with 495,516 abstentions.
Pre-IPO investor Altair US led the fight against the deal, which was also opposed by Merrion Investment Management Co. Two important firms that advise shareholders on proxy votes split with Institutional Shareholder Services recommending approval of the deal and Glass Lewis urging its defeat.
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Always at the heart of fights over sales is whether investors got the best deal. Altair argued Altair was in a market with temporary problems dragging on results and it has better prospects ahead of it. The company says it needs a multi-year rebuild.
