Filing Flows › DoubleVerify Holdings (DV) › Takeover & LBO
Is DoubleVerify Holdings (DV) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($17.54 a share) would return about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. Historically 4.3% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.86× the average). Latest signal (2026-10-30): DoubleVerify Stockholders Approve Take-Private Merger With Neptune BidCo.
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $17.54 | today's $13.49 plus 30% |
| × shares | 160.3 million | |
| = Equity value | $2.8B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $0 | |
| − Cash | $210M | |
| = Enterprise value | $2.6B | 15.6× EBITDA of $166M |
| Fees | $52.0M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $915M | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $1.7B | 66% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $842M | $178M | $70.0M | $43.0M | $872M |
| Year 2 | $894M | $189M | $66.7M | $51.7M | $820M |
| Year 3 | $939M | $199M | $62.7M | $60.4M | $759M |
| Year 4 | $977M | $207M | $58.1M | $68.8M | $691M |
| Year 5 | $1.0B | $213M | $52.8M | $76.7M | $614M |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 11.7× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $2.5B | |
| − Debt left | $614M | |
| = Buyer's equity | $1.9B | |
| Money multiple | 1.08× | on $1.7B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 1.6% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $13.49.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $14.84 | 7.8% |
| 20% | $16.19 | 4.4% |
| 30% | $17.54 | 1.6% |
| 40% | $18.89 | −0.8% |
| 50% | $20.23 | −2.9% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $786M | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $166M | 21.2% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $61.5M | |
| Capital spending | $43.8M | |
| Debt | $0 | |
| Cash | $210M | |
| Share price | $13.49 | on Oct 9, 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 7.2% 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 30% 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 30% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 12% to 31%), according to the 14 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, DoubleVerify Holdings would cost about $17.54 a share, $2.8B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 12% | $15.11 | $2.4B |
| Median | 30% | $17.54 | $2.8B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 31% | $17.67 | $2.8B |
The odds, from history
Historically 4.3% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.86× the average). Its figures put it in decile 5 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
- 2026-10-30 · news · DoubleVerify Stockholders Approve Take-Private Merger With Neptune BidCo
- 2026-09-29 · DEFM14A · Merger proxy (DEFM14A)
- 2026-09-11 · deal · Agreed sale at $13.6 cash a share · pending
DoubleVerify Holdings' latest quarter
DoubleVerify Holdings, Q3 2026: revenue $206M (+9% year over year), operating margin 13.8%, net earnings $15.9M, operating cash flow $56.0M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is DoubleVerify Holdings being acquired?
The latest signal on file is from 2026-10-30: DoubleVerify Stockholders Approve Take-Private Merger With Neptune BidCo. A headline is not a deal; Filing Flows lists the news, 8-K filings and 13D filings about a sale.
Could private equity buy DoubleVerify Holdings?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($17.54 a share) would return about 2% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%.
What would a takeover of DoubleVerify Holdings cost?
Takeovers in its sector paid a median premium of 30% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 12% to 31%), according to the 14 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, DoubleVerify Holdings would cost about $17.54 a share, $2.8B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.