Sterne Agee Maintains Neutral on Blue Coat Systems Following Acquisition Announcement

Sterne Agee has published a research report on Blue Coat Systems

after the announcement that the company would be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo. In the report, Sterne Agee writes, "Blue Coat Systems will be acquired for $25.81/share, a 48% premium to yesterday's closing price, by private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo based out of San Francisco for $1.3 billion in cash. At this level the company will be acquired at approximately at 2.0x EV/CY12 revenue or 20x CY12 Adj PE, which is below historical M&A multiples in the small/mid cap tech since 2010, but appropriate given the challenging execution over the last few years and slowing topline profile. This multiple compares to yesterday's closing multiples for RVBD, FTNT, and WBSN at approximately 4x, 7x, and 2x EV/CY12 revenue, respectively." Sterne Agee maintains its Neutral rating on Blue Coat Systems, which is currently trading up $7.72 from yesterday's $17.48 closing price.