SEATTLE _ Online jeweler Blue Nile has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital for nearly $500 million or $40.75 per share, the companies said Monday.
The deal represents a 34 percent premium over Blue Nile's closing share price on Nov. 4.
The Seattle company went public in 2004, and its stock peaked at close to $100 in 2007. For the past year its shares have fluctuated between $22 and $39.
In recent quarters Blue Nile has struggled with flat sales and crimped profits as jewelry prices declined.
It reported Monday that in the latest quarter, net income fell to $1.29 million from $1.98 million a year earlier, while sales decreased to $105.1 million from $109.9 million.
"Blue Nile will continue its innovative drive that has disrupted the diamond industry and made us the smartest, easiest, and most pressure-free way for consumers to buy a diamond," said Blue Nile chairman and CEO Harvey Kanter.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. The merger agreement allows Blue Nile to seek alternative acquisition proposals for the next 30 days.
"This is an opportunity to acquire a true disrupter in a fundamentally attractive and growing segment of the diamond industry," said Ryan Cotton, a Managing Director at Bain Capital Private Equity.
