A consortium of private equity groups is in advanced discussions to acquire SunGard Data Systems, a US software and data processing company, in a $10 billion (€7.6 billion) buy-out - the largest since 1989.
Silver Lake Partners, Bain Capital, Blackstone, Carlyle, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Texas Pacific Group and Thomas H Lee Partners have teamed up to bid for SunGard, which yesterday said it had appointed bankers and lawyers to evaluate an offer from an unnamed buyer.
A deal was expected to be announced soon, but people involved in the talks cautioned that they might still fall apart.
A sale of SunGard would represent the largest private equity deal since 1989, when KKR agreed to acquire RJR Nabisco for about $30 billion. In recent years, the number and size of private equity funds has grown significantly, leading them to consider ever larger deals.
SunGard shares, which had been losing value since the beginning of the year, rose 23.7 per cent to $30.85 in morning trading, giving the company a market capitalisation of about $8.9 billion.
SunGard has been a significant acquirer of firms, incubating or buying more than 100 IT companies. - (Financial Times Service)
