Kaseya-Datto Merger: Who Else Bid to Buy Datto, How Much and When -

Kaseya ultimately won the bidding process to acquire Datto from private equity firm Vista Equity. But what other companies bid to acquire Datto, at what time, and what was the offer price? ChannelE2E tracked down the answers through SEC filings coupled with our exclusive reporting.

The short answers, according to ChannelE2E reporting:

Thoma Bravo, Francisco Partners and at least four other private equity firms considered moves to acquire Datto.
The bidding essentially started on January 25, 2022 and ended on April 8, 2022.
If you look at the bid prices, there wasn't much of a bidding war. Kaseya and private equity parent Insight Partners essentially made the best offer on February 25. Lower bids from multiple parties came in thereafter. Even though Kaseya had submitted the best offer in February, Datto's board inspired Kaseya to further raise the bid twice in April 2022.
That's not a knock on Kaseya. They saw a strategic opportunity in acquiring Datto -- and made the bids to win Datto's boardroom approval.

Buyout Offers for Datto: Dates, Bidders and Price Ranges

Here's a chart outlining the bid dates, bidders and offer prices...

Keep in mind: Some of the bids in the chart above were non-binding offers that represented "indications of interest." Basically, that means: "Hey we're interested at this price range but we'd need to really take a closer look before sending a formal offer."

So how did the bids actually arrive to Datto, and how did Datto respond to each offer? ChannelE2E's extensive Kaseya-Datto buyout timeline delivers all the details. Though we boil down the timeline to the specific offers below.

January 2022: First Offer -- From Thoma Bravo

Kaseya's private equity parent, Insight Partners, began initial outreach to Datto owner Vista Equity in November 2021. But actual bids didn't surface until January 2022.

January 25, 2022: Thoma Bravo, $30 per share

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo submitted a non-binding written indication of interest to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Datto for $30.00 per share. The alleged plan involved combining Datto with ConnectWise. Datto rejected the offer.

February 2022: Multiple Bids, With a $34 per share high

February 2, 2022: Insight/TPG - $30.50 per share

Insight/TPC submitted a non-binding indication of interest to Weller to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Datto for $30.50 per share, as part of a plan to combine Datto with Kaseya. Datto rejected the offer.

February 17, 2022: Francisco Partners, $32.50 per share

Private equity firm Francisco Partners submitted an unsolicited indication of interest to Datto CEO Tim Weller to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Datto for $32.50 per share.

February 25, 2022: Insight/TPC, $34.00 per share

Next up, Insight/TPG submitted a revised indication of interest, proposing a price of $34.00 per share, as well as a draft merger agreement.

February 28, 2022: Thoma Bravo, $33 to $34 per share

Then, Thoma Bravo submitted a revised indication of interest valuing the Company at $33.00–34.00 per share.

March 2022: Multiple Bids, But None Match $34 Per Share

March 1, 2022: Francisco Partners, $33.75 per share

Private Equity Firm Francisco Partners submitted a revised non-binding indication of interest to acquire Datto for $33.75 per share.
Another private equity firm -- call them party D -- submitted an initial indication of interest valuing the Company at $30.00–32.00 per share. Datto rejected the offer and encouraged Party D to increase their price. But Party D dropped out of the bidding process on March 4.

March 7, 2022: Private Equity Firm E, $28.00 to $31.00 per share

Yet another Private Equity Firm -- call them Party E -- submitted a nonbinding indication of interest to acquire Datto at a valuation of between $28.00 and $31.00 per share. Datto rejected the offer and encouraged Party E to increase its offer price if it wanted to move forward in the process. But Party E dropped out of the bidding on March 10.

March 9, 2022: Private Equity Firm A, $32.50 per share

And yet Private Equity Firm Party A submitted a nonbinding indication of interest to acquire Datto at $32.50 per share. Some folks wonder if the firm was Bain Capital, though ChannelE2E has not confirmed that speculation.

March 9, 2022: Datto tells key parties to submit their last and best offer.

April 2022: Thoma Bravo Cuts Bid, Kaseya/Insight Bids Alone

April 7, 2022: Thoma Bravo Essentially Reduces Offer, Exits Bidding; Kaseya Bids $35 per share

Thoma Bravo says tells Datto representatives that the $33 to $34 per share price mentioned on February 28 is no longer valid, and that a revised offer -- if submitted -- would be lower. Thoma Bravo essentially reduced its offer and walked away from the bidding.
Kaseya bid $35.00 per share.

April 8, 2022: Kaseya's Final Offer - $35.50