Anaplan holder Corvex praises Thoms Bravo acquisition (NYSE:PLAN)

Anaplan Inc. (NYSE:PLAN) holder Corvex Management, the activist investor that disclosed a stake in the company late last week, praised private equity form Thoma Bravo’s $10.7 billion planned purchase of the financial planning software company.

Thoma Bravo is a “smart well informed private equity buyer” that’s likely looking to make “20 plus percent return” and was able to buy the business at a 45% premium to where it had been trading over the last five days, Corvex founder and head Keith Meister said in an interview on CNBC. “So clearly there’s a real money buyer there who thinks they can create value.”

Meister’s comments came after activist investors Sachem Head and Corvex disclosed stakes in Anaplan and announced plans to nominate directors to the board in filings late Thursday. Corvex, Sachem Head and JS Capital collectively have a 8.7% stake.

Meister’s comments also followed an earlier CNBC interview, where Holden Spaht, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo, said the PE firm approached Anaplan (PLAN) “well before” the activists’ disclosure. Meister confirmed that was his understanding also.

Earlier, Anaplan likely the first of many deals in the software space, venture capitalist says.

Also see, Corvex’s Meister disclosed a stake in Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG) and discussed his investment these in Five9 Inc. (FIVN).