Clearlake Capital Group L.P. announced a $7.7 billion agreement March 24 to buy Jacksonville-based Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc.
Dun & Bradstreet has been having talks with potential buyers for at least six months and the company said it expected a decision by the end of the first quarter.
The business data firm moved its headquarters to Jacksonville in 2021.
The early morning announcement by Santa Monica, California-based Clearlake did not say anything about plans for the headquarters. However, it did indicate it expects Dun & Bradstreet CEO Anthony Jabbour to stay on.
“We are excited to partner with Anthony and his team to support the company in unlocking its full potential,” two Clearlake partners said in the news release.
Dun & Bradstreet, which traces its history to 1841, moved to Jacksonville after a 2019 acquisition by an investment group led by Fidelity National Financial Inc. Chairman Bill Foley.
Foley’s group took it public in 2020.
In 2021, Dun & Bradstreet acquired the 218,700-square-foot Town Center Two building at 5335 Gate Parkway, across Butler Boulevard from St. Johns Town Center, as its headquarters.
“We have been on a strategic journey over the last six years, executing a major transformation that has strengthened our business and financial results,” Jabbour said in the news release.
“We have grown revenue by approximately 40%, EBITDA by 60%, expanded margins by nearly 600 basis points, and leverage has come down from 9 times to 3.6 times, all while extending our lead in data breadth, depth and quality,” he said.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Clearlake on this new leg of that journey. With their support, our team looks forward to evolving and growing the company with new ways to put our trusted, proprietary and mission-critical data assets to work for our clients.”
Clearlake agreed to pay $9.15 per share in cash to buy Dun & Bradstreet. Its stock closed at $8.73 on March 21 and actually was trading higher before buyout talks were first reported in August 2024.
The agreement is subject to a 30-day go-shop period in which Dun & Bradstreet can seek a higher offer.
The deal values Dun & Bradstreet’s equity at $4.1 billion. The $7.7 billion total value of the deal includes outstanding debt.