Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners on Monday
announced an agreement to acquire technology company The Active Network, owner
of meetings tech provider StarCite. The companies indicated that the all-cash
deal is worth about $1.05 billion, was unanimously recommended by Active's
board of directors and is expected to close "before the end of the fourth
quarter of 2013."
Active in early August announced that the company was
exploring "expressions of interest from outside parties." The
deal would end Active's tenure as a publicly held company, though Active
indicated it would report next month its third-quarter performance.
Active interim CEO Jon Belmonte and Vista founder and CEO Robert
Smith in statements accompanying the announcement characterized the acquisition
as a move to further Active's growth.
"This announcement represents a very positive event for
our stockholders and allows Active to build on its success to date," according
to the statement attributed to Belmonte. "We believe the partnership with
Vista will position us to execute on our strategy and further enhance our
industry leadership. For our customers, we will continue to focus on delivering
the strongest product offerings through our advanced technology platform."
Under the terms of the agreement, Vista would acquire all
shares of Active for $14.50 per share in cash.
Active purchased StarCite at the end of 2011.