Athenahealth takeover bid: Elliott Management says it might offer substantially more than $6.5 billion

Activist investment firm Elliott Associates criticized the executives and board of directors at athenahealth for not responding to the firm’s $6.5 billion offer to acquire the company a week after it was sent. Athenahealth initially said it would review the offer. “Last week, we made public our interest in acquiring athenahealth at a price of $160 per share in cash,” Jesse Cohn, partner and senior portfolio manager at Elliott Management, wrote in a letter to the athenahealth board of directors. “Additionally, we made clear that we may be able to raise our offer substantially if given access to diligence.”