Filing Flows › Cbiz (CBZ) › Takeover & LBO
Is Cbiz (CBZ) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($71.47 a share) would return about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; the most a buyer could pay for a 20% return is $32.81 a share (−40% against today's $54.98). Historically 4.1% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.82× the average). Latest signal (2026-11-03): What Does CBIZ (CBZ) Delisting Mean After Its Take Private Deal Closed?.
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $71.47 | today's $54.98 plus 30% |
| × shares | 60.0 million | |
| = Equity value | $4.3B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $1.5B | |
| − Cash | $20.9M | |
| = Enterprise value | $5.7B | 19.9× EBITDA of $288M |
| Fees | $115M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $1.6B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $4.3B | 73% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $2.9B | $296M | $121M | $130M | $1.5B |
| Year 2 | $2.9B | $305M | $111M | $144M | $1.3B |
| Year 3 | $3.0B | $315M | $100M | $159M | $1.1B |
| Year 4 | $3.1B | $324M | $88.0M | $175M | $975M |
| Year 5 | $3.2B | $334M | $74.6M | $192M | $783M |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 16.5× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $5.5B | |
| − Debt left | $783M | |
| = Buyer's equity | $4.7B | |
| Money multiple | 1.11× | on $4.3B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 2.0% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $54.98; the IRR reaches 20% at $32.81 a share.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $60.48 | 5.6% |
| 20% | $65.98 | 3.7% |
| 30% | $71.47 | 2.0% |
| 40% | $76.97 | 0.5% |
| 50% | $82.47 | −0.9% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $2.8B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $288M | 10.4% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $95.5M | |
| Capital spending | $15.6M | |
| Debt | $1.5B | |
| Cash | $20.9M | |
| Share price | $54.98 | 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 3.0% 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 27% 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 in its sector paid a median premium of 40% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 14.7% to 60.2%), according to the 20 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Cbiz would cost about $76.97 a share, $4.6B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 14.7% | $63.06 | $3.8B |
| Median | 40% | $76.97 | $4.6B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 60.2% | $88.08 | $5.3B |
The odds, from history
Historically 4.1% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.82× the average). Its figures put it in decile 4 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.
Rumors and deal signals
- 2026-11-03 · news · What Does CBIZ (CBZ) Delisting Mean After Its Take Private Deal Closed?
- 2026-11-02 · 8-K deal · Grant Thornton Advisors LLC
- 2026-10-28 · news · CBIZ (CBZ) Stock Looks Reasonable Following Its $5.0B Take Private Deal
- 2026-09-21 · DEFM14A · Merger proxy (DEFM14A)
- 2026-08-27 · deal · Agreed sale to its terms, the at $55.0 cash a share · pending
Cbiz's latest quarter
Cbiz, Q3 2026: revenue $702M (+1% year over year), operating margin 10.8%, net earnings $36.8M, operating cash flow $24.8M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Cbiz being acquired?
The latest signal on file is from 2026-11-03: What Does CBIZ (CBZ) Delisting Mean After Its Take Private Deal Closed?. A headline is not a deal; Filing Flows lists the news, 8-K filings and 13D filings about a sale.
Could private equity buy Cbiz?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($71.47 a share) would return about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; the most a buyer could pay for a 20% return is $32.81 a share (−40% against today's $54.98).
What would a takeover of Cbiz cost?
Takeovers in its sector paid a median premium of 40% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 14.7% to 60.2%), according to the 20 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Cbiz would cost about $76.97 a share, $4.6B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.