WESTFIELD, N.J., Sept. 15,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrion Investment Management
Company ("MIMCo"), an SEC-Registered Investment Advisor that is a
long-term owner of Avalara, Inc. (NYSE: AVLR) ("Avalara" or
"AVLR") today announced its opposition to the purchase of Avalara
by Vista Equity Partners.
MIMCo issued the following statement:
Avalara, Inc. announced on August 8, 2022 that it had agreed to be acquired
by Vista Equity Partners ("Vista") at a price of $93.50/share in cash.
Merrion Investment Management clients have been
investors in AVLR common shares since October 2019. Since
then, AVLR has achieved extraordinary growth and has posted
remarkable metrics among its software-as-a-service peer group, most
notably in client retention and acquisition costs. In
addition, AVLR has managed its capital base in a manner that
prepared the company well for the difficult market period now upon
us. A well-timed convertible bond offering and rapidly
improving operating efficiency bring AVLR into late 2022 with ample
liquidity.
AVLR is perfectly capable of remaining
independent and has many years of profitable growth ahead. In
light of this, the Board of Directors' decision to conduct an
auction at this time in a depressed
and volatile macroeconomic market seems
ill-advised. The price agreed appears completely devoid of
any control premium appropriate in this situation.
We intend to vote against the Vista
transaction.
About Merrion Investment Management
Founded in 1989, Merrion is a research-based asset management
firm based in Cranford, NJ.
Media and Investor Contact:
David Erb
1-908-654-0033
Disclaimer
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described
herein in any state to any person. In addition, the
discussions and opinions in this press release and the material
contained herein are for general information only and are not
intended to provide investment advice. All statements
contained in this press release that are not clearly historical in
nature or that necessarily depend on future events are
"forward-looking statements," which are not guarantees of future
performance or results, and the words "anticipate," "believe,"
"expect," "potential," "could," "opportunity," "estimate," and
similar expressions are generally intended to identify
forward-looking statements. The projected results and
statements contained in this press release and the material
contained herein that are not historical facts are based on current
expectations, speak only as of the date of this press release and
involve risks that may cause the actual results to be materially
different. Merrion Investment Management Company disclaims
any obligation to update the information herein and reserves the
right to change any of its opinions expressed herein at any time as
it deems appropriate.
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SOURCE Merrion Investment Management