Filing Flows › Yelp (YELP) › Takeover & LBO
Is Yelp (YELP) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($24.82 a share) would return about 8% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. Historically 5.1% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.01× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $24.82 | today's $19.09 plus 30% |
| × shares | 54.8 million | |
| = Equity value | $1.4B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $0 | |
| − Cash | $120M | |
| = Enterprise value | $1.2B | 5.3× EBITDA of $233M |
| Fees | $24.8M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $806M | 3.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 65% of the price |
| Buyer's own money | $459M | 36% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1.5B | $234M | $61.6M | $84.5M | $721M |
| Year 2 | $1.5B | $235M | $55.2M | $89.0M | $632M |
| Year 3 | $1.5B | $239M | $48.4M | $94.6M | $538M |
| Year 4 | $1.5B | $244M | $41.1M | $102M | $436M |
| Year 5 | $1.6B | $252M | $33.4M | $110M | $326M |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 4.0× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $999M | |
| − Debt left | $326M | |
| = Buyer's equity | $673M | |
| Money multiple | 1.47× | on $459M put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | 8.0% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $19.09.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $21.00 | 17.4% |
| 20% | $22.91 | 12.6% |
| 30% | $24.82 | 8.0% |
| 40% | $26.73 | 3.3% |
| 50% | $28.63 | −1.5% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $1.5B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $233M | 15.9% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $64.6M | |
| Capital spending | $55.0M | |
| Debt | $0 | |
| Cash | $120M | |
| Share price | $19.09 | 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 0.1% 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 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, Yelp would cost about $25.29 a share, $1.4B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $22.91 | $1.3B |
| Median | 32.5% | $25.29 | $1.4B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $28.98 | $1.6B |
The odds, from history
Historically 5.1% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (1.01× the average). Its figures put it in decile 6 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.
Yelp's latest quarter
Yelp, Q3 2026: revenue $371M (-1% year over year), operating margin 13.2%, net earnings $34.6M, operating cash flow $100M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Yelp being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy Yelp?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($24.82 a share) would return about 8% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%.
What would a takeover of Yelp 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, Yelp would cost about $25.29 a share, $1.4B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.