Filing Flows › F5 (FFIV) › Takeover & LBO
Is F5 (FFIV) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($439.84 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 2.4% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.49× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $439.84 | today's $338.34 plus 30% |
| × shares | 57.5 million | |
| = Equity value | $25.3B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $0 | |
| − Cash | $1.6B | |
| = Enterprise value | $23.7B | 26.1× EBITDA of $910M |
| Fees | $474M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $5.0B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $19.2B | 79% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $3.6B | $982M | $383M | $413M | $4.6B |
| Year 2 | $3.8B | $1.0B | $351M | $494M | $4.1B |
| Year 3 | $4.0B | $1.1B | $313M | $575M | $3.5B |
| Year 4 | $4.2B | $1.2B | $269M | $653M | $2.9B |
| Year 5 | $4.3B | $1.2B | $219M | $727M | $2.1B |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 19.6× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $23.3B | |
| − Debt left | $2.1B | |
| = Buyer's equity | $21.2B | |
| Money multiple | 1.10× | on $19.2B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 2.0% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $338.34.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $372.17 | 6.9% |
| 20% | $406.01 | 4.3% |
| 30% | $439.84 | 2.0% |
| 40% | $473.68 | 0.0% |
| 50% | $507.51 | −1.8% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $3.3B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $910M | 27.5% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $97.4M | |
| Capital spending | $79.8M | |
| Debt | $0 | |
| Cash | $1.6B | |
| Share price | $338.34 | 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 8.0% 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 15% 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, F5 would cost about $439.84 a share, $25.3B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 12% | $378.94 | $21.8B |
| Median | 30% | $439.84 | $25.3B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 31% | $443.23 | $25.5B |
The odds, from history
Historically 2.4% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.49× the average). Its figures put it in decile 1 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.
F5's latest quarter
F5, Q3 FY26: revenue $865M (+11% year over year), operating margin 24.7%, net earnings $208M, operating cash flow $316M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is F5 being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy F5?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($439.84 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 F5 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, F5 would cost about $439.84 a share, $25.3B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.