UPDATED 13:07 EDT / AUGUST 05 2016

NEWS

Report: Rackspace’s rumored sale could be worth $3.5BN

It’s looking more and more likely that Rackspace Hosting Inc. is heading towards a sale. Less than 24 hours after word leaked that the company is holding acquisition talks with a private equity firm, a new report from Reuters has crossed the wire with concrete details about the rumored deal.

Rackspace is supposedly entertaining a $3.5 billion takeover bid from Apollo Global Management LLC, an alternative investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts that has over $180 billion under management. Most of its holdings are in traditional industries such as the retail, entertainment and tourism segments, but the outfit does have some experience with the enterprise technology space. Apollo picked up a professional services provider called Presidio Inc. in early 2015 for an undisclosed amount and has been working to generate a return ever since.

This information seems to be consistent with the Wall Street Journal report that started the acquisition rumor yesterday. The piece stated that the deal could be worth up to $4 billion and suggested an agreement may be announced as soon as this week if everything goes according to plan. The rumor is also given some credence by the fact that Rackspace publicly hired the services of an investment bank in 2014 to explore “inbound strategic proposals,” which is code for buyout offers.

At the same time, however, it’s worth considering that the hosting provider’s financial outlook has greatly improved in the two years since. Rackspace has consistently increased revenues over the last few quarters, while private equity firms like Apollo generally prefer buying struggling companies with unrealized growth potential.

Nonetheless, Wall Street is already getting excited about the acquisition rumors. Trading in the company’s stock had to be temporarily halted yesterday after its price soared nearly 15 percent to $26.55 and it’s currently sitting above $29.

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