A consortium of private equity groups, organized by Silver Lake Partners, is nearing a deal to buy SunGard Data Systems for roughly $11.3 billion, in what would be one of the biggest leveraged buyouts since the landmark $25 billion takeover of RJR Nabisco in 1989.
The consortium – which includes Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and others – has agreed to take SunGard private for about $36 a share, plus the assumption of debt, executives familiar with the discussions said yesterday.
That price would represent about a 44 percent premium over SunGard’s trading price of $24.95 on March 18, before news of the deal first broke in The Post.
Shares of SunGard, which provides software and processing services to top financial companies, closed at $31.55, up 21 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange Friday.
SunGard’s board was meeting late last night to approve the sale.
An agreement could be announced as early as today.
Even though an agreement with the consortium has been reached, a deal is still not entirely certain, sources warned.
The SunGard board will have a fiduciary obligation to consider any higher proposal that may emerge as a result of the announced deal.
In the event that SunGard chooses another suitor, the consortium would be entitled to a traditional break-up fee amounting to roughly $300 million.
A SunGard spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Wayne, Pa.-based SunGard effectively put itself up for sale last fall when it said it would spin off of its Availability Services disaster-recovery unit from the software and business-processing arm in order to simplify its operations, which have little overlap with one another and created a drag on the company’s stock.
The move, said executives involved in the process, prompted private equity firms to make their approach. Credit Suisse First Boston and Shearman & Sterling advised SunGard in the negotiations.
SunGard has grown by snapping up niche competitors with complementary products and services.
The company’s aggressive buying spree has enabled it to broaden its product offerings and rapidly gain market share.
Silver Lake, a buyout firm focused on the new economy, pursues investments in established companies within technology and other high-growth industries, where there is tremendous capital-appreciation opportunity.