Reuters: Global Markets: Quest gets alternative proposals, shares hit year high

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Quest gets alternative proposals, shares hit year high May 9th 2012, 13:50 Wed May 9, 2012 9:50am EDT (Reuters) - Quest Software Inc (QSFT.O), which agreed to be bought by Insight Venture Partners for $2 billion, said it received multiple alternative proposals during its go-shop period, sending its shares up 10 percent to their highest in a year. "The alternative proposals are reasonably expected to lead to a superior proposal," Quest said in a statement Wednesday. Quest, however, said its special committee had not yet determined that any of the alternative proposals were superior and continued to support the pending acquisition by Insight. The company, which makes software to monitor the flow of data through networks, said on March 9 that it received Insight's $23 per share offer, but was looking for a better deal. Analysts said they expected offers of up to $25 per share, with Dell Inc (DELL.O), BMC Software Inc (BMC.O), CA Inc (CA.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) as possible bidders. If Quest terminates the deal with Insight, it will pay the private equity firm a break-up fee of either $4.2 million or $6.3 million, depending on the timing of the deal. The company is, however, dealing with a shareholder lawsuit that alleges that Quest's new CEO Vinny Smith rushed to sell the company to head off a possible regulatory probe into its accounting practices. The lawsuit suggests that Smith, who had been serving as executive chairman, replaced former CEO Doug Garn in February because Garn was reluctant to certify Quest's annual report. The stock jumped to $25.19 in morning trade, making it one of the biggest percentage gainers on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair and Gopakumar Warrier) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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