Under the terms of the deal, CompuCom shareholders will receive $4.60 for each outstanding share of CompuCom common stock they own. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $254m, including the payment of $15m plus accumulated dividends with respect to the company’s outstanding preferred stock.
The merger has received the blessing of CompuCom’s board of directors, who have recommended its approval by CompuCom shareholders.
CompuCom’s largest shareholder is Safeguard Scientifics Inc, a Wayne, Pennsylvania-based company that invests in high-tech ventures. Safeguard holds a 58% voting stake in CompuCom, and its board of directors have already approved the merger.
If the annual meeting of Safeguard shareholders approves the deal, the merger proposal will be adopted at the CompuCom shareholder meeting.
The deal is contingent on obtaining $35m in debt financing, which is being arranged by investment bank Jefferies & Co. If all terms are met, the acquisition is expected to close late in the third quarter.
CompuCom is Dallas, Texas-based, and has been trying to shift its focus away from being one of North America’s largest PC resellers, towards a higher-margin services operation that offers outsourcing and systems integration services. However a quick glance at the company’s revenue break-down, shows that the vast bulk of its sales still comes from reselling hardware.
It was hit hard in 2001 and 2002 by slump in demand for new PC hardware systems from large US corporates.
