Brookfield Business Partners agreed to buy CDK Global Inc., a provider of software for auto dealerships, in an all-cash deal with an equity value of US$6.4 billion.
The investment company said it will pay US$54.87 a share for Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based CDK, according to a statement Thursday. The price was 12 per cent higher than CDK’s closing price Wednesday, and 30 per cent above where CDK traded on Feb. 18, just before speculation surfaced regarding a potential sale of the company. CDK shares rose 11 per cent to US$54.50 at 9:45 a.m. in New York.
“CDK’s board of directors carefully evaluated a range of strategic and financial alternatives over several months and determined that this transaction is superior to all other available alternatives,” Chief Executive Officer Brian Krzanich said in the statement.
Brookfield, which has about US$690 billion of assets under management, said the CDK transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter. The deal’s enterprise value is US$8.3 billion, according to the statement.
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