Hedge Funds Disagree on PE Tender Offer for Esker as Shareholders Support It

Shareholders of French software company Esker (EPA:ALESK) have overwhelmingly supported the tender offer from private equity firms Bridgeport and General Atlantic. However, recent hedge fund coverage of the stock varies.

THB and Brown Capital reported that Esker was among their best-performing stocks during the third quarter, precisely because of the September tender offer from the two PE firms.

Brown Capital and Langdon Partners weighed in on Esker during the third quarter — with one firm happy to lose the company with the offer going through and the other firm disappointed to see it go. Amid that disagreement comes the view that Esker could’ve done better than the tender offer — in the next three to five years through compound earnings growth.