NaviSite Board Rejects Takeover Offer

The board of directors of NaviSite has rejected a takeover offer from the company's largest investor, Atlantic Investors, the company said Friday. NaviSite said the offer of $3.05 a share, which values the company about $115 million, was unanimously rejected by a special committee of independent board members.

"The committee will continue to consider strategic alternatives available to NaviSite, including maintaining NaviSite as a standalone public company," the board said in a statement. "NaviSite does not intend to disclose developments with respect to any consideration of strategic alternatives unless and until the Committee and the Board of Directors have approved a specific course of action."

Here's the awkward part: NaviSite CEO Arthur Becker and chairman Andrew Ruhan each have business ties with Atlantic Investors. Becker is a managing member of Madison Technology LLC, which in turn is a managing member of Atlantic. Ruhan holds an equity interest in Unicorn Worldwide Holdings Limited, which is also a managing member of Atlantic.

NaviSite operates 15 data centers located across the US and UK, with about 230,000 square feet of usable customer space. The company operates facilities in Andover, Mass.; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Las vegas; London; Charlotte, N.C.; Minneapolis, Minn.; New York City; Oak Brook, Ill.; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Syracuse, N.Y. and Vienna, Va. in the U.S. and sites at London and Woking in the UK.