Elliott Pushes Athenahealth To Commence A Sale Process: 'Shareholders Have Spoken'

In response to an Elliott Management letter pressuring immediate initiation of a sale process, athenahealth, Inc (NASDAQ: ATHN) confirmed Thursday that it was exploring Elliott’s unsolicited takeover offer and would do so on its own time.

What Happened

“The Board currently is undertaking a thorough and deliberate analysis of Elliott Management's proposal to acquire the Company for $160 per share in cash and will continue to take the time necessary to complete this review notwithstanding Elliott Management's attempts to publicly pressure the Board and management team,” the board wrote in a press release.

Athenahealth committed to “promptly” communicating the results of its analysis.

In its earlier letter, Elliott claimed it had received support for the acquisition from Athenahealth shareholders, Street analysts and the media.

What's Next

Athenahealth’s stock chart appears to corroborate the view. Shares have risen 21.8 percent since Elliott made its bid May 7. The stock traded around $153.63 Thursday afternoon.

“The investment community broadly agrees that athenahealth has struggled as a public company and should immediately explore a value-maximizing sale, including consideration of Elliott’s offer,” Elliott wrote.

According to the correspondence, Athenahealth has also fielded interest from other potential buyers.

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