Acxiom acknowledged Monday that it received a letter from investment firm ValueAct Capital Partners LP stating its intent to issue an offer of $23 per share for all outstanding shares of common stock, DM News reported. The deal would value the company at $1.97 billion. The letter criticized Acxiom's financial management and board of directors for failing to increase shareholder value. ValueAct already owns 10 percent of Acxiom's stock. The letter also criticized Acxiom's acquisitions last year of Claritas Europe and Consodata. But it did not mention Acxiom's acquisition of Digital Impact or SmartDM.
According to an internal memo obtained by DM, the possible takeover bid was not a complete surprise and any offer made as a result would be unsolicited. The memo said that senior leadership was focused on the situation and remained committed to delivering value and preventing a hostile takeover.
