Stamps.com Inc. has been purchased at a premium price by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $6.6 billion.
The deal will see shareholders in the El Segundo-based online postage company (Nasdaq: STMP) receive $330 per share in cash, which is a 67% premium above the company's closing price on Thursday. In early Friday trading, shares in Stamps.com were up more than 63%, rising $126 per share to around $323.
“With the financial and operational support of Thoma Bravo, Stamps.com can continue to innovate and pursue growth opportunities to capture the expanding e-commerce shipping market and extend our position as the leading global multi-carrier e-commerce shipping software company," said Ken McBride, Stamps.com’s chairman and CEO, in a statement. The company also added that it will continue to be headquartered in El Segundo after the deal closes.
There's a 40-day “go-shop” period that allows the company's board to seek higher offers from other parties. If that doesn't happen, Stamps.com is expected to become a private company in the third quarter.
Stamps.com was founded in 1996, and went public three years later. McBride has been CEO since 2001. The company employs 1,492 people, according to YahooFinance.
