DocuSign Shares Tumble 7% Amid Buyout Price Dispute

Key Takeaway

• Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman's deal talks with DocuSign Inc stall over price disagreements, impacting DocuSign's shares by a 7% drop.
• The stalled negotiations highlight the challenges in securing large leveraged buyouts due to increased financing costs.
• Despite the current impasse, there remains a possibility for future resumption of talks for the $11 billion market value company.

Negotiations between Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman, and DocuSign Inc regarding a potential acquisition have hit a standstill due to disagreements over the purchase price, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The private equity firms, which had shown interest in acquiring the online signature service provider, have not reached an agreement with DocuSign, which is currently valued at approximately $11 billion. Despite the current impasse, there remains a possibility that discussions could be reinitiated in the future, the sources noted, preferring to remain anonymous due to the confidentiality of the matter.

Following the news of the stalled negotiations, DocuSign's shares experienced a decline of more than 7% in New York trading on Monday. The acquisition, if agreed upon, would mark one of the most significant leveraged buyouts of 2024. However, the landscape for such deals has become more challenging in recent years, with a noticeable increase in financing costs making it more difficult and expensive to secure the necessary funds for leveraged buyouts.

DocuSign, known for its platform that enables users to sign documents electronically from any device, serves a wide range of large corporations, including T-Mobile, United Airlines, and Thermo Fisher. The company's technology has facilitated the digital signing of documents, catering to the needs of businesses across various sectors. Despite the current uncertainties surrounding the acquisition talks, DocuSign continues to play a crucial role in the digital documentation industry.