Your background missed Elliot’s 5yr+ activist history towards Citrix since 2015, with a brief break around 2020. At the time of this deal, they owned ~12% of Citrix. After 2020 board changes, Elliot bought back into Citrix around Q3 21, so at best around $95-100/sh. This deal pays out $104/sh. So it’s almost a rollover from their equity to PE fund.
Elliot is obsessed with Citrix, and this is furthering their conviction with leverage to boost their opportunity.
You're right that it's not paying out Vista much if anything at all when you account for fees, but it's still a nine-figure sum of new money in, which is lifeblood for these zombie B2B software companies to get a few more shots on goal to fix their situation.
Elliot is obsessed with Citrix, and this is furthering their conviction with leverage to boost their opportunity.