Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Sotheby’s Acquired for $3.7bn

June 17, 2019 by Marion Maneker

Sotheby’s announced this morning that the board of directors has accepted a $57 a share bid for the company:

Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID) today announced that it has signed a definitive
merger agreement to be acquired by BidFair USA, an entity wholly owned by media and telecom entrepreneur as well as art collector, Patrick Drahi. Under the terms of the agreement, which was approved by Sotheby’s Board of Directors, shareholders, including employee shareholders, will receive $57.00 in cash per share of Sotheby’s common stock in a transaction with an enterprise value of $3.7 billion. The offer price represents a premium of 61% to Sotheby’s closing price on June 14, 2019, and a 56.3% premium to the company’s 30 trading-day volume weighted average share price. The transaction would result in Sotheby’s returning to private ownership after 31 years as a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Drahi shared a letter explaining his personal involvement in the purchase:

I am very honored that the Board of Sotheby’s has decided to recommend my offer.

With my family, we are very enthusiastic to build together with its current management and their teams the future of Sotheby’s, a fascinating and multi-secular company with such a celebrated history of uniting people all over the world through culture and arts.

For my entire life, I have been passionate about this industry and I believe the opportunities and growth potential are significant for Sotheby’s.

I am making this investment for my family, through my personal holding, with a very long-term perspective. There is no capital link with Altice Europe or Altice USA.

As the future owner, I have full confidence in Sotheby’s management, and hence do not anticipate any change to the Company’s strategy. Management and their exceptional teams and talent around the world will continue to operate with my full support.

This investment will further demonstrate the anchoring of my family in the United States, a country where we have been very welcomed since the successful acquisitions of Suddenlink in 2015, Cablevision in 2016 and just recently Cheddar.

The telecom and media industries will keep being my main focus where I remain 100% committed to our businesses and to our continued growth. I will of course keep leading the management team in the development and growth of Altice Europe, as well as remain Chairman of the Board of Altice USA to support Dexter and his team who are doing a great job.

The acquisition of Sotheby’s will be funded by financings arranged and underwritten by BNP Paribas as well as by equity provided from my own funds. To help fund this transaction, I do not intend to sell any shares in Altice Europe NV; my intention is to monetize a small position in Altice USA up to $400 million by the end of the year. Due to Altice USA’s share repurchase program, the total economic stake of my holdings in Altice USA has increased over the last 12 months from approximately 34% to 38 %.

Drahi’s ownership of Sotheby’s when it closes later this year will put both major auction houses in the hands of French billionaires. Drahi owns a number of properties but his primary wealth is through Altice, the telecom company.

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Design Miami/Basel Plays It SafeDesign Miami/Basel Plays It Safe
  • Stimulus Passes with Arts Jobs AidStimulus Passes with Arts Jobs Aid
  • Carnegie Museum Deaccessions RomneysCarnegie Museum Deaccessions Romneys
  • Mary Boone Grabs All the Publicity She CanMary Boone Grabs All the Publicity She Can
  • Armory/ADAA Sales ReportArmory/ADAA Sales Report
  • Isamu Noguchi Light Sculpture Once Owned by Andy Warhol Will Sell At Christie’sIsamu Noguchi Light Sculpture Once Owned by Andy Warhol Will Sell At Christie’s

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • After Pandemic’s Rapid Change, Sotheby’s Has 8 Predictions for 2021
  • For 2020, Phillips Brought in Total of $760.4 million, Down 16 Percent from 2019; Asia Sales Up 24 Percent
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Soulages First Owned by Senegalese Poet-Politician Léopold Sédar Senghor Sells in France
  • A Season of Resilience: Fall 2020 Hong Kong Auction Analysis
  • Gorky, Kandinsky Works to Make First Public Appearance Since 1970s at Sotheby's
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • A Season of Improvisation: Fall 2020 New York Modern and Contemporary Art Auction Analysis
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor