Wilmington-based Navient announced that it has received an “expression of interest” from Canyon Capital Advisors LLC and Platinum Equity Advisors, LLC to acquire the company for $12.50 per share in cash or more than $3 billion.
The offer represents a premium of 6.6 percent over Navient’s most recent closing price on February 15, of $11.73 per share and a discount of 2.8 percent to the one-year average price of $12.86 per share. Navient’s Board rejected the offer.
Navient shares rose 9 percent this week on news of the offer.
The expression of interest is conditioned on additional due diligence and that Canyon and Platinum have not provided substantive information on various matters.
In a release, Navient noted that it has had a constructive and long-term relationship with Canyon and that Canyon and Platinum had approached the company last October requesting information that would allow them to make an offer for the company.
On October 19, 2018, Navient entered into a confidentiality agreement with each of Canyon and Platinum, and over the past four months the company provided “substantial due diligence access.”
The confidentiality agreement had a standstill period that was extended as additional information was requested and provided. The standstill ended on February 15, and on that date Canyon delivered its non-binding expression of interest.
Navient has been working to diversify beyond student loans. It has remained the subject of lawsuits over its student loan servicing practices, which it fiercely defends.
The company’s stock price has remained depressed since its spinoff a few years ago from Newark-area based student loan provider Sallie Mae.
