Sotheby's goes private after 31 years, bought by Drahi for $3.7 bn

American art dealing company Sotheby's on Monday announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi in a $3.7 billion cash deal. The deal implies that Sotheby's would go private, 31 years after its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Drahi is an art collector and media and telecom entrepreneur.