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First Major Buy for Connors
Information Services Group (ISG), the acquisition firm chaired by former VNU man Michael Connors, is to buy outsourcing advisory firm TPI for $280m in cash. As part of the agreement, TPI's management team will invest 30% of the proceeds in ISG stock.
In addition, ISG - which raised $258m through a public offering earlier this year (www.mrweb.com/drno/news6418.htm ) - intends to repurchase up to $40m of its common stock after closing, in a move which the firm says reflects its confidence in the transaction and demonstrates its commitment to enhancing shareholder value.
Founded in 1989, TPI supplies data, research, and knowledge to help clients evaluate their outsourcing strategies. The firm's quarterly 'TPI Index' provides analysis about the current state of the global outsourcing market and information on trends such as transaction structures, industry adoption, geographic prevalence and service provider metrics - the kind of 'strong combination' of data and advisory services which Connors highlighted in DRNO's EarPiece in February (www.mrweb.com/drno/news6558.htm ).
Connors is well ahead of schedule, having told EarPiece that his company would buy an information services firm 'within eighteen months'. On the proposed acquisition, he comments: 'TPI is a data and insight driven business with outstanding people who are totally focused on improving core functions for clients. With TPI as our foundation, we will continue to aggressively expand our information-services brands, driven by the combination of proprietary data, knowledgeable people and expert service that help companies improve their market position and profitability.'
Ed Glotzbach, President & CEO of TPI responded: 'TPI has come a long way in the past 17 years and we believe that Mike Connors and the ISG team will provide further leadership and expertise that will help our business be even more successful in our future together.'
Houston-based TPI had 2006 revenues of $147m, and 2007 revenue growth is forecast at nearly 15%. The firm employs 430 staff throughout its operations in Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden and the UK and is online at www.tpi.net. Connecticut-based ISG is run by a team including several former Nielsen / VNU executives and is on the web at www.informationsg.com .
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