Filing Flows › Acco Brands (ACCO) › Takeover & LBO
Is Acco Brands (ACCO) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($7.15 a share) would return about 13% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; the most a buyer could pay for a 20% return is $5.42 a share (−1% against today's $5.50). Historically 6.3% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.26× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $7.15 | today's $5.50 plus 30% |
| × shares | 96.0 million | |
| = Equity value | $686M | |
| + Debt refinanced | $878M | |
| − Cash | $175M | |
| = Enterprise value | $1.4B | 8.9× EBITDA of $157M |
| Fees | $27.8M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $862M | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $556M | 39% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1.6B | $159M | $65.9M | $86.5M | $775M |
| Year 2 | $1.6B | $162M | $59.3M | $94.2M | $681M |
| Year 3 | $1.7B | $166M | $52.1M | $103M | $578M |
| Year 4 | $1.7B | $170M | $44.2M | $113M | $465M |
| Year 5 | $1.8B | $175M | $35.6M | $124M | $342M |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 7.9× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $1.4B | |
| − Debt left | $342M | |
| = Buyer's equity | $1.0B | |
| Money multiple | 1.86× | on $556M put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 13.3% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $5.50; the IRR reaches 20% at $5.42 a share.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $6.05 | 17.7% |
| 20% | $6.60 | 15.6% |
| 30% | $7.15 | 13.3% |
| 40% | $7.70 | 11.2% |
| 50% | $8.25 | 9.3% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $1.6B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $157M | 10.0% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $66.5M | |
| Debt | $878M | |
| Cash | $175M | |
| Share price | $5.50 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows 1.5% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 16% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Acco Brands would cost about $7.29 a share, $700M for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $6.60 | $634M |
| Median | 32.5% | $7.29 | $700M |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $8.35 | $802M |
The odds, from history
Historically 6.3% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.26× the average). Its figures put it in decile 8 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
Acco Brands' latest quarter
Acco Brands, Q3 2026: revenue $380M (-0.9% year over year), operating margin 8.0%, net earnings $11.5M, operating cash flow $131M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Acco Brands being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy Acco Brands?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($7.15 a share) would return about 13% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; the most a buyer could pay for a 20% return is $5.42 a share (−1% against today's $5.50).
What would a takeover of Acco Brands cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Acco Brands would cost about $7.29 a share, $700M for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.