A group of Arco Platform Ltd. shareholders sent a letter to directors urging them to reject a deal to take the company private, according to a copy of the communication reviewed by Bloomberg News.
(Bloomberg) — A group of Arco Platform Ltd. shareholders sent a letter to directors urging them to reject a deal to take the company private, according to a copy of the communication reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Arisaig Partners, Gavea Investimentos and Hix Capital, which say they represent a collective ownership stake of 13%, wrote that if Arco agrees to a proposed takeover by Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic LLC, it would “represent a callous mistreatment of minority shareholders,” according to the letter.
The group described the $11-a-share offer price as “unfavorable,” adding that the value is not “anywhere close to acceptable” based on Arco’s history as a public company, earnings momentum, recent volume-weighted market price and peers.
Read more: Go-Private Bid from General Atlantic, Dragoneer Propels Arco
Representatives for Arisaig, Gavea and Hix declined to comment. Arco didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Shares in Sao Paulo-based Arco, a developer of educational software, were up 2.2% to $13.37 at 10:18 a.m. New York Thursday, a premium over the tabled take-private offer. It has a market capitalization of roughly $761 million.
General Atlantic became an Arco shareholder in 2014 and four years later the Brazilian company went public in the US. The fund further boosted its investment last year through a private investment in public equity, or PIPE, with Dragoneer also participating in the transaction.
(Updates to say Arisaig declined to comment in fourth paragraph, adds stock move and context starting in fifth paragraph.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
