Geac Computer Corporation Limited.
Golden Gate Capital to Acquire Geac Computer Corporation for Approximately US$1.0 Billion, Cash Price of US$11.10 Per Share
San Francisco, California, Markham, Canada and Waltham, Massachusetts, November 7 (ots/PRNewswire)
- Fortified Financial Position, Deep Global Presence and Expanded Development Initiatives Provide Increased Benefits for Customers and Strong Opportunities for Employees
Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in high-growth businesses in change intensive industries, and Geac Computer Corporation Limited (TSX: GAC ; NASDAQ: GEAC) today announced that they have reached a definitive agreement for Golden Gate Capital to acquire Geac in an all-cash transaction valued at US$11.10 per share (which, based on Friday's Bank of Canada exchange rate, was CDN$13.11), or approximately US$1.0 billion, pursuant to a plan of arrangement.
The agreement has received unanimous approval from Geac's Independent Committee and Board of Directors. The Independent Committee was advised by Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. The Independent Committee also received a fairness opinion from CIBC World Markets. The parties anticipate closing the transaction in the first calendar quarter of 2006. The closing is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and Geac shareholder and court approval of the plan of arrangement.
Commenting on the transaction, Charles S. Jones, President and CEO of Geac said, "Today's announcement provides outstanding opportunity for all of our key stakeholders. For shareholders, we have achieved an offered price of US$11.10, a per share value which represents a 27.0% premium over Friday's trading price and a 38.7% premium to enterprise value. For our customers and employees, this proposed transaction and the resources available through it provide a long-term future for our business. Geac has capitalized on its industry-specific focus and expertise in the Manufacturing, Government, Financial Services, Healthcare and Retail sectors. Our vertical market success should be enhanced by the current initiatives and momentum within the Golden Gate portfolio."
With today's transaction price, Geac's share price, in US dollar terms, has increased by nearly 276.0%, since Mr. Jones became Chairman of the company five years ago, compared to the NASDAQ Index Composite decrease of 38.6% and the TSX Index increase of 6.8%, during the same period. "At the annual meeting, we noted the most important trend in our industry is consolidation. This economic paradigm cannot be ignored. The unique combination of our business with several of Golden Gate's software investments provides the extraordinary opportunity to deliver the greatest value to each and every stakeholder group. Importantly, success in the software industry today derives from the strength of size and scale - the scale to invest in new products, in marketing and in a global sales force," Mr. Jones continued.
"The technology businesses we acquire are carefully selected based on their growth potential and ability to deliver vertically specific enterprise software offerings and deep market expertise to their customers. Golden Gate Capital views Geac as a natural addition to this successful strategy," said David Dominik, Managing Director of Golden Gate Capital, which has more than US$2.5 billion under management. "Golden Gate Capital looks at acquisitions with a different perspective than most private equity firms. We seek to integrate companies that can grow significantly faster together than they could on their own. This strategy has been implemented successfully by Concerto/Aspect Software, AttachmateWRQ, Inovis and Infor. We will aggressively support the Geac business units with our 'assembler' acquisition strategy. Upon completion of the acquisition, Geac will be reorganized into two separate Golden Gate Capital portfolio companies."
As part of the reorganization, Infor, an existing Golden Gate Capital funded company, will acquire Geac's ERP software products - including System21, Runtime, RatioPlan, Streamline, and Management Data - and the employees who support them will move to Infor. As the largest provider of enterprise software exclusively focused on the manufacturing and distribution industries, Infor delivers integrated solutions that address the essential challenges its customers face in areas such as supply chain planning, relationship management, demand management, ERP, warehouse management, marketing-driven distribution, and business intelligence. Infor has more than 2,300 employees in 47 offices around the world and supports approximately 18,000 customers in more than 70 countries.
Mr. Dominik continued, "Infor understands the critical role software solutions play in customers' businesses and is committed to protecting and enhancing our customers' investments. By bringing together the resources, talent and expertise of Geac and Infor, customers will benefit from the combined entity's superior solutions and service. Infor's customers will have access to additional domain expertise, while Geac's customers will benefit from increased product diversity, additional product investments and improved global reach. In addition to the immediate product and service portfolio enhancements, customers will benefit from Infor's strong financial backing and deep focus on developing enterprise solutions for manufacturers and distributors."
Geac's financial applications and the Industry Specific Applications (ISA) will become the two business groups under a newly formed Golden Gate Capital funded company, which will be named prior to the transaction closing and is referred to below as "NEWCO". In addition, Geac's general and administrative staff, including the finance and accounting, legal, IT and human resources teams will provide the global general and administrative infrastructure for NEWCO. The newly formed Financial Applications business unit under NEWCO will include the products and the employees who currently work within Geac's Enterprise Server, SmartStream, Anael, Extensity and Comshare products. This business unit will target the integrated financial applications software market, and the combination of these solutions will become the foundation of a complete offering of integrated financial applications. Geac's ISA businesses - CSD, Libraries, Local Government, Public Safety and Restaurants - will form the second business unit under NEWCO and will continue to target their current industries. Each ISA business will remain independent from the others in a structure similar to what exists within Geac today. The CEO of the new company will be named prior to closing the transaction.
Jones also noted that one of Geac's largest shareholders, Crescendo Partners, has expressed its full support for this transaction and has agreed to vote in favor of the plan of arrangement. Eric Rosenfeld, President and CEO of Crescendo Partners, is a member of Geac's Board of Directors.
The transaction will be financed through a combination of equity from Golden Gate Capital, cash on Geac's balance sheet and firmly committed debt financing. JPMorgan acted as lead arranger and bookrunner for Infor's Senior Facilities, and JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch acted as co-lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for NEWCO's Senior Facilities. Wells Fargo Foothill acted as documentation agent for Infor's first and second lien financing and NEWCO's First Lien Financing. D.B. Zwirn Finance led NEWCO's Second Lien Financing, acting as sole syndication agent and administrative agent. Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. acted as financial advisor and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acted as legal advisors to Geac. JPMorgan acted as exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP acted as legal advisors to Golden Gate Capital.
Conference Call
Geac management will hold a conference call later this morning, November 7, 2005, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the definitive agreement, which will be available online at http://www.investors.geac.com or www.fulldisclosure.com. The call-in number for today's call is +1-416-405-9328 or +1-800-387-6216. Listeners may also access the conference call and a brief management presentation via webcast at http://www.investors.geac.com. Attendees should log in at least 15 minutes prior to the call. The online replay will be available today at approximately 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) and will continue for 30 days. The replay can be accessed at +1-416-695-5800 or at +1-800-408-3053. The pass code for the replay is 3167398 followed by the number sign.
About Infor
Infor is the largest global software provider exclusively focused on delivering world-class enterprise applications to customers in the manufacturing and distribution industries. Infor delivers integrated best-in-class products that address the essential challenges its customers face in areas such as supply chain planning, relationship management, demand management, ERP, warehouse management, marketing-driven distribution, and business intelligence. With more than 2,300 employees in 47 global offices, Infor provides enterprise solutions to 17,500 customers in over 70 countries. For additional information, visit www.infor.com.
About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital (http://www.goldengatecap.com) is a San Francisco- based private equity investment firm with approximately US$2.5 billion of capital under management. Golden Gate Capital is dedicated to partnering with world-class management teams to invest in change-intensive, growth businesses. They target investments in situations where there is a demonstrable opportunity to significantly enhance a company's value. The principals of Golden Gate Capital have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide rage of industries and transaction types, including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures and spin-offs, build-ups and venture stage investing.
About Geac
Geac (TSX: GAC, NASDAQ:GEAC) is a global enterprise software company that addresses the needs of the Chief Financial Officer. Geac's best-in-class technology products and services help organizations do more with less in an increasingly competitive environment, amidst growing regulatory pressure, and in response to other business issues confronting the CFO. Further information is available at http://www.geac.com or through e-mail at info@geac.com.
Important Information Regarding the Transaction
The proposed transaction will be submitted to Geac's shareholders for their consideration, and Geac will file a proxy circular on SEDAR and with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to be used by Geac to solicit their shareholders' approval of the proposed transaction, as well as certain other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction. Shareholders of Geac are urged to read the proxy circular regarding the proposed transaction and any other relevant documents filed on SEDAR and with the SEC when they become available, as well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because they will contain important information. Interested parties will be able to obtain a free copy of the proxy circular, as well as other filings containing information about Geac, at www.sedar.com and at http://www.sec.gov.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements of Geac's intentions, beliefs, expectations and predictions for the future. These forward-looking statements often include use of the future tense with words such as "will," "may," "intends," "anticipates," "expects" and similar conditional or forward-looking words and phrases. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees. They are only predictions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and they may differ materially from actual future events or results. Geac undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained herein. Risks and uncertainties include the satisfaction of the conditions to closing, including receipt of shareholder and regulatory approval. Other potential risks and uncertainties that relate to Geac's business and operations are summarized in more detail from time to time in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and with the Canadian Securities Administrators. Please refer to Geac's most recent quarterly reports available through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov and through the website maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators and the Canadian Depository for Securities Limited at www.sedar.com for more information on risk factors that could cause actual results to differ. Geac is a registered trademark of Geac Computer Corporation Limited. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners.
Contact:
Transaction Contact: Jon Salon, Vice President, Deputy General
Counsel, Geac, Tel: +1-781-672-8810, jon.salon@geac.com; Geac
Investor and Media Contacts: Alys Scott, Vice President, Corporate
Communications, Geac, Tel: +1-781-672-5980, alys.scott@geac.com;
Infor
Contact: Beverly McDonald, Vice President, Corporate Communications,
Infor, Tel: +1-678-907-2048, Beverly.mcdonald@infor.com; Golden Gate
Capital Contact: Joelle Kenealey, Director, Coltrin & Associates,
Tel: +1-415-305-6065, Joelle_kenealey@coltrin.com