Paul Singer might not appear significantly versatile. Decade-long battles with sovereign states have a tendency to provide individuals an impression of cussed obstinacy, even to the purpose of pig-headedness.
In fact, the Elliott Administration chief has all the time been pragmatically open-minded: If he’s not capable of fireplace you in his traditional means, he’ll simply purchase the corporate and hand-deliver the pink-slips himself.
The scenario simmered for greater than a 12 months. Ultimately, Elliott’s pondering shifted. If Athena didn’t wish to implement the agency’s plans, then Elliott would attempt to implement these plans itself.
Elliott submitted a proper takeover provide in Might 2018. A month later, [Athena CEO Jonathan] Bush stepped down from Athena after Bloomberg printed a narrative detailing previous home violence allegations and newer accusations of office misconduct. Athena’s inventory continued to flounder, and its shareholders opted to facet with Elliott. A deal was reached by November, when Elliott teamed up with non-public fairness agency Veritas Capital to purchase Athena for $5.7 billion.
Huh. Marvel the place Bloomberg received that info. Anyway, nonetheless unhealthy it was for Bush, the pivot to personal fairness is understanding relatively swimmingly for Elliott.
Final week, after simply three years of possession, Elliott and Veritas closed the sale of Athena for $17 billion. Elliott’s revenue is estimated to be about $5 billion—a profitable exit that serves as a testomony to the advantages of personal fairness and Elliott’s turnaround chops….
Elliott first invested in Citrix in 2015 and held a stake for 5 years earlier than it ever tried a buyout, and the agency owned a slice of Athena for almost two years earlier than closing its takeover in 2019. That yearslong relationship permits Elliott to study extra about potential targets than could be doable in regular diligence.
It additionally permits the agency to determine off-the-radar targets. Neither Citrix nor Athena had engaged any formal sale course of when Elliott first made its method.
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