The Story Behind OpenTable’s Tangled Courtship of Priceline
Photo Credit: OpenTable's app for iOS. Skift
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Who asked who out? OpenTable kicked off the sale process and approached the Priceline Group about an acquisition via email in mid-April in a process that ultimately involved six other companies. The usual suspects likely expressed interest, and Priceline's initial non-binding bid was first and substantially higher than that of the other bidder.
OpenTable put itself up for sale in late March, and in the run-up to the Priceline Group's June 13 acquisition announcement, OpenTable attracted expressions of interest from six other companies -- including one that submitted two bids -- in addition to Priceline's.
So Priceline was initially the pursued rather than the pursuer, and it moved fast, submitting the first "non-binding expression of interest" at $95 to $105 per share in cash on May 9.
The $103 per share offer that the OpenTable board ultimately accepted June 12 -- just one day before the acquisition announcement -- bested a $92 offer from the other unnamed company and represented a 46% premium over the closing share price on June 12.
The facts surrounding OpenTable's sale process, which began March 25 when the board formed a special committee of CEO Matthew Roberts, chairman Thomas Layton, and board member Bill Gurley of Benchmark Capital to explore strategic alternatives, were detailed in an SEC filing June 25.
