Platinum Equity Completes Acquisition of CompuCom Systems Inc.; Company is Taken Private in $254 Million Cash-for-Stock Transaction
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2004--Platinum Equity announced today that it has completed the acquisition of CompuCom Systems Inc., a premier IT solutions provider that helps companies plan, implement and manage multi-vendor, industry standard computing environments.
The acquisition was completed via a merger between CompuCom Systems and an affiliate of Platinum Equity. Under the merger agreement, CompuCom shareholders received $4.60 for each outstanding share of CompuCom common stock.
Prior to the merger, CompuCom was a publicly traded company (NASDAQ:CMPC). The merger takes the company private. The all-cash transaction was valued at approximately $254 million, including the payment of $15 million plus accumulated dividends with respect to the company's outstanding preferred stock.
"We are very excited about the future of this business," said Jacob Kotzubei, senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Platinum. "CompuCom is a leading provider of IT solutions to enterprise customers. It provides a strong complement to our other service and solutions businesses, and it will be an important platform company in our operations portfolio."
With the addition of CompuCom, Platinum Equity's operations portfolio now comprises 21 operating companies with more than 38,000 employees and global annual revenue of nearly $8 billion.
"We have a tremendous amount of momentum right now," said Johnny O. Lopez, executive vice president and the head of Platinum's M&A organization. "CompuCom is the third billion-dollar-revenue company we have acquired this year, and we are continuing to aggressively pursue new transactions."
Headquartered in Dallas, CompuCom has approximately 3,500 employees and sales of approximately $1.4 billion in 2003.
As one of the largest multivendor support providers in the nation, the company's customer base includes Fortune 1000 enterprises, high-growth companies, vertical market leaders, major technology equipment manufacturers, leading-edge system integrators, and wireless technology providers who rely on CompuCom for superior, unbiased IT services and systems integration.
"Platinum has a very focused approach that will ensure CompuCom's transition from public to private company is seamless," said Rob Joubran, chief operating officer for Platinum Equity.
Platinum executives said among the top priorities in transition would be supporting the CompuCom management team as it refines its long-term strategic plan for the business.
"With Platinum Equity's commitment and resources, CompuCom will be an even stronger and more capable IT solutions provider," said J. Edward Coleman, the company's president and CEO. "We will continue to concentrate on advancing CompuCom's core competency - combining our technology product capabilities with our national, high-quality IT services organization to meet clients' information systems needs."
About Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity (www.platinumequity.com) is a global M&A&O(SM) firm specialized in the merger, acquisition and operation of mission-critical services and solutions companies. Since its founding in 1995, Platinum Equity has acquired more than 40 businesses and built a portfolio of companies with more than 38,000 employees, more than 600,000 customer sites and annual revenues of nearly $8 billion. In 2003 Platinum Equity was named the 34th largest private company in the United States.
Mark Barnhill,
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