Before Financial Engines Inc. chose Hellman & Friedman LLC's offer to be acquired, it briefly considered at least one competing offer from an unnamed bidder. But Hellman & Friedman sealed the deal after allowing the company to pay the dividend to its shareholders until the closing of the deal.
The two companies had been in talks at least since December 2017 before they signed a merger agreement in April. In the run up to the merger, Financial Engines made third-party inquiries and sought competing offers, according to a regulatory filing.
At least two suitors made rival offers but neither topped Hellman & Friedman's preliminary offer of $45.00. One of them eventually withdrew the offer and the other cut its offer to a range of $41.00 per share to $43.50 per share. During the talks, Hellman & Friedman maintained its previous offer but eventually agreed to permit the company to pay its regular dividend of 8 cents per share until the closing of the merger.
The two parties announced the merger agreement on April 30.
