Golden Gate Capital Completes Eleventh Software
Public-To-Private Transaction
Portfolio Company Infor Simultaneously Acquires Publically
Traded SSA Global Technologies and Systems Union Plc
SAN FRANCISCO (August 2, 2006 ) - Golden Gate Capital, a
San Francisco-based private equity firm with $2.8 billion of capital
under management, announced today that it has completed its 10th and
11th going private transactions in the software industry with the
$460 million acquisition of Systems Union Group plc (AIM: SUG) and
the $1.7 billion acquisition of SSA Global Technologies, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SSAG). In the past five years, Golden Gate Capital has
completed 42 investments in or acquisitions of software companies
across a broad range of application segments, with target companies
ranging in revenue from $10 million to $1 billion.
On a
consolidated basis, Golden Gate Capital's software portfolio
generates approximately $4 billion in annual revenue and would be
the sixth largest software company in the world. Notable Golden Gate
Capital investments include Infor Global Solutions, one of the
largest global providers of enterprise software, Aspect Software,
the largest software company focused solely on the contact center,
and Plant Equipment, a leader in emergency response technology.
"Golden Gate Capital's success and scale in software
investing allows us to operate more like a strategic acquirer than a
traditional private equity firm," said David Dominik, a Managing
Director at Golden Gate Capital. "We differentiate ourselves from
our peers based upon this strategic mindset that allows us both to
identify fertile investment opportunities pro-actively and to react
very quickly when opportunities find us. We believe our approach
will continue to generate attractive investment options and we plan
to remain very active in the software sector across a broad range of
transaction types, including management and leveraged buy-outs,
growth equity investments, and public market
investing."
Infor, Golden Gate Capital's largest software
portfolio company, traces its roots to the purchase of a $35 million
revenue division of Systems & Computer Technology (SCT) in
November 2002. Since then, Infor has completed over 20 add-on
acquisitions to become the leading worldwide provider of enterprise
applications to the mid-market, with revenue approaching $2.1
billion and a customer count of over 70,000.
"The strong
partnership between the Infor management team and Golden Gate
Capital creates a unique opportunity to drive growth both through
organic initiatives as well as through acquisition," said Jim
Schaper, chairman and CEO of Infor. "Our cross-functional business
development team -- involving members of our sales and technical
organizations in addition to Golden Gate Capital staff -- allows us
to evaluate a range of strategic alternatives that few players have
the capability to pursue. I'm not aware of any other financial
sponsor who uses a model similar to Golden Gate Capital."
Software companies that Golden Gate Capital has taken
private include SSA Global Technologies; Systems Union Plc; NetIQ;
Geac Computer Corporation; Datastream; Aspect Communication; Blue
Martini; Mapics; QRS; Concerto Software; and Infor AG. Other
representative investments include MicroFocus; Inovis; Ecometry
Corporation; Attachmate; Hansen Information Technologies; and Symon
Communications.
About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity
investment firm with approximately $2.8 billion of capital under
management. Golden Gate Capital is dedicated to partnering with
world-class management teams to invest in change-intensive, growth
businesses. Golden Gate targets 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 range of industries and transaction types. For more
information, please visit http://www.goldengatecap.com/.
About Infor
Infor delivers fully integrated enterprise solutions for specific
industries, as well as best-in-class standalone products that
address the essential challenges its customers face in areas such as
enterprise resource planning, supply chain planning and execution,
customer and supplier relationship management, asset management,
product lifecycle management, and business intelligence. With more
than 8,100 employees and offices in 100 countries, Infor provides
enterprise solutions to more than 70,000 customers. For additional
information, visit http://www.infor.com/. |
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