HTC Global to Buy IT Consultant Ciber for $93 Million
May 19 2017 - 2:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Lillian Rizzo
Ciber Inc. won court approval to sell its assets to HTC Global
Services Inc., after the company prevailed with a $93 million bid
in an auction this week.
"These are very favorable results from the auction," said Judge
Brendan Shannon at a hearing Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Wilmington, Del.
HTC Global's winning bid for Ciber's North American and Indian
assets was significantly more than the $50 million floor price set
by France's Capgemini. HTC also agreed to assume certain
liabilities as part of the offer.
Based in Troy, Mich., HTC is a provider of
information-technology and outsourcing services. HTC Chief
Executive Madhava Reddy said in court papers filed that the company
is "uniquely positioned" to buy Ciber as it provides similar
services. Court papers show that the privately held company had
nearly $99 million in assets and about $45 million in liabilities
for the period ending Dec. 31, 2016.
Due to the change in buyer and certain aspects of the sale,
Ciber also received court approval to extend the maturity of its
$41 million bankruptcy loan into June, as well as increase the size
of the facility, which was provided by prepetition lender Wells
Fargo & Co.
John D. Penn, a lawyer for Ciber's unsecured creditors
committee, said his client was "pleased with the successful
auction," looks forward to developing a reorganization plan "for a
significant distribution to unsecured creditors." He added that he
expects creditors to file additional claims for lease and contract
rejections.
Ciber, which operates in the U.S., the U.K., and Denmark, and
has centers in India, Vietnam and Poland, sought bankruptcy
protection in mid-April after its balance sheet took a hit due to
years of decline in demand and performance in its European market.
Since 2014, Ciber's customers have left, making it difficult for
the European operations to return to profitability.
The company said that its business operations in Finland,
Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden were shut
recently.
The company's major shareholders include BlackRock Inc.,
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC
and Invesco Ltd., court papers show.
Founded in 1974, Ciber's business grew through acquisitions and,
at its peak, had more than 8,600 employees. Currently the company
has about 2,200 employees, as well as 315 independent contractors,
and a subsidiary in India that employs about 1,350 people.
Peg Brickley contributed to this article
Write to Lillian Rizzo at Lillian.Rizzo@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 19, 2017 14:16 ET (18:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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