Acxiom Merger Off and Chairman to Retire

Data management firm Acxiom Corp. (NASDAQ: ACXM) announced this morning that the company would not be purchased and that its chairman will retire.

Axio Holdings agreed to end its plan to purchase Acxiom for $2.25 billion, and pay the company $65 million to terminate the deal, according to a release from Acxiom.

Axio Holdings is made up of private equity partners Silver Lake and ValueAct Capital. The two announced in May they would pay $3.0 billion in cash for Little Rock, Ark.-based Acxiom, including the assumption of $756 million in debt. ValueAct, an owner of 13.2 percent of Acxiom, is led by Jeffrey Ubben, who has argued that Acxiom was undervalued.

Acxiom also announced today that Chairman Charles D. Morgan would retire once a successor has been named. Morgan said in a statement that he had planned to step down as the buyout was completed. “As Acxiom will now remain public, it is the right time for change,” said Morgan, who has led the company for 32 years.

The buyout valued Acxiom stock at $27.10 per share. Acxiom stock was down nearly 24 percent today in midday trading to $15.07.

A number of leveraged buyout deals are falling apart following the collapse of the subprime mortgage market and the ensuing credit crunch. Last week, investors backed away from the $25 billion deal for SLM Corp., or Sallie Mae, the student lender. Last month, investors pulled out of an $8 billion deal for audio equipment firm Harman International. The Wall Street Journal reported today that September’s $52.8 billion in U.S. merger and acquisition deals was one-fifth to one-third lower than monthly M&A totals earlier this year.