Sotheby’s, the 275-year-old auction house, is getting acquired by billionaire media mogul Patrick Drahi (BID)

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Sotheby’s shares spiked nearly 60% Monday after the auction house said BidFair USA, owned by the Altice founder Patrick Drahi, was acquiring it for $3.7 billion.
The price tag marks a hefty 61% premium to Sotheby’s closing price the session prior.
The acquisition is the second notable deal under Drahi this spring. In late April, Altice USA said it was buying the financial news video startup Cheddar.
Track Sotheby’s stock price here in real time.

Sold!

Shares of Sotheby’s spiked nearly 60% Monday after the New York auction house said BidFair USA — an entity owned by Patrick Drahi, the billionaire founder of telecommunications group Altice — was acquiring it for $3.7 billion.

BidFair USA agreed to acquire Sotheby’s at $57 per share, representing a 61% premium to the stock’s Friday closing price.

The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year pending shareholder approval, would return Sotheby’s to the private market after 31 years as a public company.

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"The time is right" for the 275-year-old Sotheby’s to return to private ownership, Domenico De Sole, the chairman of Sotheby’s board, said in a statement.

The acquisition marks the second notable deal under Drahi this spring. Altice USA, of which Drahi is the chairman, said in April it was buying the financial news video startup Cheddar.

Prior to Monday’s announcement, Sotheby’s shares had fallen 39% over the previous year, badly underperforming the broader market. Its stock is the oldest listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The boutique advisory firm LionTree is serving as financial advisor to Sotheby’s on the deal, while BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley are acting as financial advisors to BidFair USA.

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