By Dana Mattioli And Mike Spector
Investment firm Centerbridge Partners LP is nearing a deal to
buy IPC Systems Inc., a communications company for financial
trading, for more than $1.1 billion including debt, according to
people familiar with the matter.
IPC is owned by Silver Lake, a technology-focused private-equity
firm, which bought IPC in 2006 for about $800 million.
Silver Lake started exploring a sale of IPC earlier this year,
and a deal with Centerbridge could be announced as soon as this
week, the people said.
IPC, which serves firms like banks, hedge funds and investment
managers, has traded hands a number of times over the last two
decades. In 2000, Global Crossing Ltd. bought the company. A year
later, it sold IPC for $360 million to an investor group led by the
private-equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Silver Lake bought
IPC from GS Capital Partners for $800 million in cash in 2006,
according to S&P Capital IQ.
It is not uncommon for private-equity firms like Centerbridge
and Silver Lake to buy and sell companies to each other in deals
known as "secondaries." These firms generally don't like to own
companies indefinitely, as they need to return money to investors.
And private-equity firms can be natural buyers to rival sellers
because they flock to companies with common characteristics and
often have money that needs to be put to work.
Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com and Mike Spector
at mike.spector@wsj.com
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