Rackspace RAX, -3.11% , a managed cloud company, is being taken private by Apollo Global Management in a $4.3 billion acquisition, the company said Friday. Rackspace shareholders should receive $32 per share in cash and the total transaction of $4.3 billion includes "the assumption" of $43 million of net cash. The Rackspace board of directors unanimously approved the agreement and recommend stockholders vote in favor of it. "Our board, with the assistance of independent advisors, determined that this transaction, upon closing, will deliver immediate, significant and certain cash value to our stockholders," Graham Weston, co-founder of Rackspace, said in the release. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016. Rackspace shares were up 4% pre-market trade Friday. Shares have gained 23% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500's SPX, -1.15% gain of 4%. The Wall Street Journal reported on August 3 that the companies were close to a deal.