Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,757,922 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

SunGard Data Systems to Be Acquired by Private Equity Group for $36 Per Share or Approximately $11.3 Billion.


WAYNE, Pa. & NEW YORK New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
 -- SunGard

--Silver Lake Partners, Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (commonly referred to as KKR) is a New York City-based private equity firm that focuses primarily on late-stage leveraged buyouts. It was founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., and cousins Henry Kravis and George R.  & Co. L.P., Providence Equity Partners Providence Equity Partners is a private equity firm headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island that focuses on investments in media and telecommunications. It is one of the largest private investment firms specializing in equity investments in media and communications companies.  and Texas Pacific Group Work as Partners to Complete Buyout

--Transaction Underscores SunGard's Growth Prospects, Broad and Leading Industry Positions, and World-Class Management Team

SunGard (NYSE NYSE

See: New York Stock Exchange
:SDS 1. (company) SDS - Scientific Data Systems.
2. (tool) SDS - Schema Definition Set.
), a global leader in integrated software and processing solutions primarily for financial services and the pioneer and leading provider of information availability services, together with a consortium of seven leading private equity investment firms, announced today the execution of a definitive agreement under which the consortium will acquire SunGard in a transaction valued at approximately $11.3 billion. The acquiring consortium was organized by Silver Lake Partners Silver Lake Partners is a notable American private equity firm founded in 1999 and headquartered on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. It focuses its activities in the information technology industry.  and includes Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., Providence Equity Partners and Texas Pacific Group.

Under the terms of the agreement, SunGard stockholders will receive $36 in cash for each share of SunGard common stock they hold. SunGard's existing bonds in the principal amount of $500 million will remain outstanding.

The board of directors of SunGard has approved the merger agreement and has recommended to SunGard's stockholders that they adopt the agreement. In light of this transaction, the board of directors of SunGard has determined not to implement the previously announced plan to spin off SunGard's Availability Services business.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2005, subject to receipt of stockholder approval and customary regulatory approvals as well as satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Cristobal Conde, president and chief executive officer of SunGard, said, "This transaction offers great value to our stockholders and represents an endorsement of our business model, industry leadership and financial strength. Our customers and employees should know that it is business as usual, now and following the completion of the transaction. The new investors in SunGard are world-leading private equity firms. They have a long-term view towards growing the businesses in which they invest and an excellent track record of working in partnership with management to build great companies."

Mr. Conde continued, "This transaction would not have been possible without the hard work of all our employees. They should be assured that the success of the transaction will depend on growing the business rather than eliminating jobs or reducing service levels. Upon completion of the transaction, our current senior management team will continue to lead the company, with corporate headquarters remaining in Wayne, Pennsylvania."

Glenn H. Hutchins, a cofounder co·found  
tr.v. co·found·ed, co·found·ing, co·founds
To establish or found in concert with another or others.



co·found
 and managing member of Silver Lake Partners, said, "Our consortium partners are extremely pleased with this investment. We have complete confidence in Cris Conde and his world-class leadership team at SunGard and believe the company has excellent prospects for continued technology leadership and growth. SunGard's track record of delivering mission-critical, value-enhancing technology solutions to the world's most important financial institutions is exceptional, and we look forward to working in partnership with the company to safeguard and extend that rich legacy. Our interests are aligned with the long-term interests of SunGard's customers and employees. SunGard will continue to focus on meeting the needs of all of its customers by delivering cutting-edge technologies and providing the very high level of service its customers are accustomed to receiving."

Mr. Hutchins continued, "We at Silver Lake Partners are privileged to be in partnership with this distinguished group of private equity firms in this unprecedented transaction. Each partner in the consortium brings considerable and complementary expertise to this investment. It is a powerhouse group distinguished by unparalleled experience and the best track records in the private equity industry, joined together in a shared commitment to investing in SunGard as equal partners and working closely with the company's management and employees to maximize SunGard's potential."

Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston was originally the trading name of the Financière Crédit Suisse-First Boston, a London-based 50-50 investment banking joint venture formed in 1978 between the First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse.  LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol.

LLC - Logical Link Control
 acted as financial advisors to SunGard and provided a fairness opinion Fairness Opinion

A report put together by qualified analysts or advisors providing to key decision makers an evaluation of and facts about a merger or acquisition.

Notes:
A fairness opinion serves as a document used for guidance in a merger, takeover, or acquisition.
 to the board of directors of SunGard in connection with the transaction. In addition, Lazard also provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of SunGard. Shearman & Sterling LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol  acted as legal advisor to SunGard in connection with the transaction. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP acted as legal advisor to SunGard's management in connection with the transaction.

The transaction will be financed through a combination of equity contributed by each of the consortium partners and debt financing Debt Financing

When a firm raises money for working capital or capital expenditures by selling bonds, bills, or notes to individual and/or institutional investors. In return for lending the money, the individuals or institutions become creditors and receive a promise to repay
 provided by JPMorgan, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley who also acted as financial advisors to the consortium partners. Ropes & Gray LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal advisors to the consortium partners.

Webcast

SunGard will host a conference call to discuss this announcement today, Monday, March 28, 2005, at 8:30 a.m. EDT EDT
abbr.
Eastern Daylight Time


EDT Eastern Daylight Time

EDT n abbr (US) (= Eastern Daylight Time) → hora de verano de Nueva York

EDT 
. The dial-in number is (719) 457-2634, passcode 6882747, or you may listen to the call live at www.vcall.com. An audio replay of the call will be available from noon today through Monday, April 3, 2005 at www.vcall.com and at (719) 457-0820, passcode 6882747. A copy of this press release can be found at www.sungard.com. All statements made by SunGard officers on the conference call and the information posted on the SunGard Web site are the copyrighted property of SunGard. Recording of the conference call is prohibited without the express prior written consent of SunGard.

About SunGard

SunGard is a global leader in integrated software and processing solutions, primarily for financial services. SunGard also helps information-dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 20,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world's 50 largest financial services companies. SunGard (NYSE:SDS) is a member of the S&P 500 and has annual revenue of $3 billion. Visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.

About Silver Lake Partners

Silver Lake Partners is the leading private equity firm focused exclusively on large-scale investing in technology and related growth industries. Silver Lake seeks to achieve superior returns by investing with the strategic insight of an experienced industry participant, the operating skill of a world-class manager, and the financial expertise of a disciplined private equity investor. Specifically, Silver Lake's mission is to function as a value-added partner to the management teams of the world's leading technology franchises. Its portfolio companies include technology industry leaders such as Ameritrade, Business Objects, Flextronics, Gartner, Network General, Seagate Technology, Thomson and UGS UGS

In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Uganda Shilling.

Notes:
The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion.
. For more information: www.silverlake.com.

About Bain Capital

Bain Capital (www.baincapital.com) is a global private investment firm that manages several pools of capital including private equity, high-yield assets, mezzanine capital and public equity with more than $24 billion in assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. . Since its inception in 1984, Bain Capital has made private equity investments and add-on acquisitions in over 225 companies in a variety of industries around the world, and has a team of almost 200 professionals dedicated to investing in and supporting its portfolio companies. A global team of professionals focused on technology has guided investments in nearly 75 technology and information services See Information Systems.  companies, including UGS PLM (Product Life cycle Management) A comprehensive information system that coordinates all aspects of a product from initial concept to its eventual retirement. Sometimes called the "digital backbone" of a product, it includes the requirements phase, analysis and design , Ameritrade, DoubleClick, TeamSystem, Experian, Integrated Circuit Systems, Gartner, Therma-Wave, Taleo and USinternetworking. Headquartered in Boston, Bain Capital has offices in New York, London and Munich.

About The Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group, a private investment bank with offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston, London, Hamburg and Paris, was founded in 1985. The firm has raised a total of approximately $32 billion for alternative asset investing since its formation. Over $14 billion of that has been for private equity investing, including Blackstone Capital Partners IV, the largest institutional private equity fund ever raised at $6.45 billion. In addition to Private Equity Investing, The Blackstone Group's core businesses are Private Real Estate Investing Real estate investing involves the purchase of real estate for profit. Profits are accumulated slowly by renting out properties in a cashflow method, or are generally improved and resold for a capital gain. , Corporate Debt Investing, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory, and Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory.

About Goldman Sachs Capital Partners

Goldman Sachs is a global leader in private equity and mezzanine investing. To date, Goldman Sachs has formed ten investment vehicles aggregating over $17 billion of capital. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners is the primary investment arm for Goldman Sachs in making privately negotiated equity investments. Since inception in 1986, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners has invested in over 500 companies globally in a broad range of industries. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners seeks long-term capital appreciation by committing equity to high-quality companies with superior management. For more information, please visit www.gs.com/pia.

About KKR KKR Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (method)
KKR Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts & Co.
KKR Kalkara (postal locality, Malta)
KKR Kramers-Kronig Relations
KKR Komarappa Gounder Ramalingam (hospital in India) 
 

KKR is one of the world's oldest and most experienced private equity firms specializing in management buyouts, with offices in New York, Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city in San Mateo County, California in the United States of America. It is located at latitude 37°29' North, longitude 122°9' East. Menlo Park had 30,785 inhabitants as of the 2000 U.S. Census.  and London. For more information, visit www.kkr.com.

About Providence Equity Partners Inc.

Providence Equity Partners Inc. is one of the world's leading private investment firms specializing in equity investments in media and communications companies. The principals of Providence Equity manage funds with over $9 billion in equity commitments and have invested in more than 80 companies operating in over 20 countries since the firm's inception in 1990. Current and previous areas of investment include cable television content and distribution, wireless and wireline telephony, publishing, radio and television broadcasting and other media and communications sectors. Significant investments include VoiceStream Wireless, Warner Music Group Warner Music Group (WMG) is one of the four major record labels.

Warner Music Group also has a publishing arm, Warner/Chappell Music, which dates back to 1929, when Jack Warner, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.
, PanAmSat, AT&T Canada, eircom plc, Casema, Kabel Deutschland, Language Line, F&W Publications, ProSiebenSat.1, and Bresnan Broadband Holdings. The firm has offices in Providence, New York Providence is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,841 at the 2000 census.

The Town of Providence is on the county's western border and is west of Saratoga Springs, New York.
 and London. Visit www.provequity.com for additional information.

About Texas Pacific Group

Texas Pacific Group, founded in 1993 is a private investment partnership managing over $15 billion in assets. The firm is and based in Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States[1], and voted one of "America’s Most Livable Communities. , with additional offices in San Francisco and London. TPG TPG Texas Pacific Group
TPG Tapping
TPG Transports Publics Genevois (Geneva, Switzerland public transportation)
TPG Test Pattern Generator
TPG TNT Post Group
TPG Trésorier Payeur Général
 seeks to invest in world-class franchises across a range of industries, including significant investments in technology, retail, consumer products, airlines and healthcare. TPG is a leading global private equity investor in the technology sector with investments in Business Objects (BOBJ BOBJ Business Objects SA ), Conexant (CNXT), MEMC MEMC Mission Essential Minor Construction
MEMC Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre (Singapore)
MEMC Mitchell Electric Membership Corporation (Georgia)
MEMC Monsanto Electronic Materials Company, Inc.
 Electronic Materials (WFR WFR Wilderness First Responder
WFR Wafer
WFR Wizard's First Rule (Terry Goodkind book)
WFR Work Force Reduction
WFR Waiting For Reply
WFR Worcestershire and Foresters Regiment
WFR With Fried Rice
), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Paradyne Networks (PDYN), Seagate Technology (STX STX - Start Of Text ), Isola, Network General, and Smart Modular. Significant investments outside of technology include Continental Airlines (CAL), Del Monte Foods Del Monte Foods (NYSE: DLM) is an American food production and distribution company based in San Francisco, California.

It offers canned goods in Del Monte, S&W and Contadina brands, pet foods under Kibbles n' Bits, 9Lives, Pounce, Milk-Bone and several premium brands,
 (DLM See ILM.

DLM - Distributed Lock Manager on distributed VMS systems.
), Petco (PETC PETC Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (Department of Energy)
PETC Pennsylvania Educational Technology Corporation
PETC Animal in cabin (IATA codes)
PETC Public Employers' Training Consortium
), Punch Taverns (PUB), Ducati Motorcycles (DMH DMH Department of Mental Health (US)
DMH Decatur Memorial Hospital (Illinois)
DMH Disaster Mental Health (FEMA)
DMH De Montfort Hall (UK) 
), J. Crew Group and Burger King.

About the Transaction

In connection with the proposed merger, SunGard will file a proxy statement Proxy Statement

A document containing the information that a company is required by the SEC to provide to shareholders so they can make informed decisions about matters that will be brought up at an annual stockholder meeting.
 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE ADVISED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement (when available) and other documents filed by SunGard at the Securities and Exchange Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov. The proxy statement and such other documents may also be obtained for free from SunGard by directing such request to SunGard, Attention: Investor Relations Investor relations

The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors.
, telephone: (484) 582-5500.

SunGard and its directors, executive officers and other members of its management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from its stockholders in connection with the proposed merger. Information concerning the interests of SunGard's participants in the solicitation is set forth in SunGard's proxy statements and Annual Reports on Form 10-K Form 10-K

A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information.


Form 10-K

See 10-K.
, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in the proxy statement relating to the merger when it becomes available.

SunGard's "Safe Harbor" Statement under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and  of 1995

Statements about the expected effects, timing and completion of the proposed transaction and all other statements in this release other than historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "would," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "estimates," or "anticipates" or similar expressions which concern our strategy, plans or intentions. All statements we make relating to estimated and projected earnings, margins, costs, expenditures, cash flows, growth rates and financial results are forward-looking statements. In addition, we, through our senior management, from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning our expected future operations and performance and other developments. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may change at any time, and, therefore, our actual results may differ materially from those we expected. We derive most of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Some of the factors that we believe could affect our results include: general economic and market conditions, including the lingering effects of the economic slowdown on information technology spending levels, trading volumes and services revenue; the overall condition of the financial services industry, including the effect of any further consolidation among financial services firms; the integration of acquired businesses, the performance of acquired businesses, and the prospects for future acquisitions; the effect of war, terrorism or catastrophic events; the effect of disruptions to our ASP Systems; the timing and magnitude of software sales; the timing and scope of technological advances; customers taking their information availability solutions in-house; the trend in information availability toward solutions utilizing more dedicated resources; the market and credit risks associated with clearing broker operations; the ability to retain and attract customers and key personnel; risks relating to the foreign countries where we transact business; and the ability to obtain patent protection and avoid patent-related liabilities in the context of a rapidly developing legal framework for software and business-method patents. We may not be able to complete the proposed transaction on the terms summarized above or other acceptable terms, or at all, due to a number of factors, including the failure to obtain approval of our stockholders, regulatory approvals or to satisfy other customary closing conditions. The factors described in this paragraph and other factors that may affect our business or future financial results are discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, a copy of which may be obtained from us without charge. We assume no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf as a result of new information, future events or other factors.

Trademark Information: SunGard and the SunGard logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2005, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:4EUUK
Date:Mar 28, 2005
Words:2424
Previous Article:OmniVision Broadens Role in Imaging Industry Through Acquisition of CDM Optics, Inc.
Next Article:Largest OSB Mill in North America on Track for Startup Fall 2005, an Advisory from Industrialinfo.com.
Topics:



Related Articles
SunGard Elects de Oliveira to Board of Directors.
Consortium of Private Equity Firms Completes Acquisition of SunGard; Transaction Ranks As Second Largest LBO Ever.
Recovery work: Eric McKissack more than doubled the gains of the Dow and S&P.(stock prices review)(Brief article)
Valley's largest technology companies: ranked by 2005 revenues.(The List)
SunGard Asia Pacific Extends Offer Period for Shares of System Access Limited.(Company overview)
SunGard Asia Pacific Offer for Shares of System Access Limited Declared Unconditional as to Acceptances.(Company overview)
SunGard Asia Pacific Offer for Shares of System Access Limited Closed.(Company overview)
SunGard Asia Pacific Offer for Shares of System Access Limited Declared Unconditional.
SunGard Asia Pacific Extends Offer Period for Shares of System Access Limited.(Company overview)
$19b Equity Office sale part of growing trend.

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles