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CDW Corp. on Tuesday announced that the distributor of hardware, software and technology accessories has agreed to be acquired by a private equity company in a $7.3 billion deal.
Under the agreement with Chicago's Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, CDW shareholders will receive $87.75 in cash for each share of common stock, CDW said in a news release issued after the close of business.
CDW said that's a 16.1 percent premium over the Vernon Hills-based company's $75.56 closing share price Friday and a premium of approximately 31.4 percent over the average closing share price during the previous 90 trading days.
Earlier Tuesday, CDW's shares rose to $83.11, a seven-year high, after The Wall Street Journal reported it was in talks to be acquired. The acquisition is expected to be completed by early in the fourth quarter of this year.
The 23-year-old CDW buys computers and related equipment from such manufacturers as Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. and markets them to small and mid-size businesses, governments and school systems, customizing the products and offering other services.
Last year, CDW earned $266.1 million on sales of $6.8 billion. The stock, which has traded as low as $50.28 in the past 52 weeks, topped its previous 52-week high of $79.71.
Source: AP

Labels: CDWC, HPQ, IBM

Wall Street backtracked Tuesday to trade mixed, after excitement waned over new takeover deals and resilient consumer confidence and investors decided to play it safe ahead of upcoming data.
A sharp decline in oil prices also dampened energy company stocks and weighed on the Dow Jones industrial average, which had risen more than 50 points early in the day and later turned lower.
Initially, stocks rose after a consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland PLC said it will bid 71.1 billion euros, or $95.5 billion, for the Netherlands' ABN Amro, besting an offer from Barclays PLC. Other takeover news included an announcement that Tishman Speyer Properties and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. are buying Archstone-Smith Trust for at least $13.5 billion.
But with the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting scheduled to be released Wednesday, a report that could provide some insight into future interest rate moves, investors pulled back. Wall Street also digested strong consumer confidence data, and a report on housing prices. By midafternoon trading, the Dow slipped 18.37, or 0.14 percent, to 13,488.91. The blue-chip index has fallen for the fifth time in six sessions.
Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.76, or 0.05 percent, to 1,514.97, while the Nasdaq composite index added 7.32, or 0.29 percent, to 2,564.51.
Bonds fell after the consumer confidence data, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.88 percent from 4.86 percent late Friday. Yields have remained higher in recent sessions as fixed-income investors bet the Fed won't lower rates in the near future. On Tuesday, the consumer appeared strong; the Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 108.0 in May, up from a revised 106.3 in April and above the average analyst estimate. Also, the Dallas and Chicago Federal Reserves both reported expansions in regional manufacturing activity.
But the housing sector looked weak after the Standard & Poor's housing index indicated that U.S. home prices declined 1.4 percent in the first quarter compared to a year ago, the first time since 1991 that prices posted a quarterly drop. U.S. retail gasoline prices have eased slightly from their record high of $3.227 a gallon, on average, but remained high Tuesday at $3.201, according to AAA. Crude oil futures plunged $2.05 to $63.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In response, Exxon Mobil Corp., one of the 30 Dow components, fell $1.33, or 1.6 percent, to $82.18.
After it was reported that Archstone was being bought, the stock rose $5.60, or 10 percent, to $60.83.
In other takeover news, The Wall Street Journal said technology retailer CDW Corp. and telecommunications equipment company Avaya Inc. are private equity takeover targets. Avaya rose $1.99, or 14.5 percent, to $15.66, and CDW rose $7.17, or 9.5 percent, to $82.73.
And late Monday, engineering and construction company URS Corp. said it will buy competitor Washington Group International for $2.6 billion. Washington Group rose $11.93, or 17 percent, to $81.90, and URS rose $2.41, or 5.1 percent, to $49.30.
The technology sector, which has been weaker than the rest of the stock market in recent months, got a boost Tuesday after Vodafone Group PLC said it narrowed its full-year loss. U.S. shares of the world's biggest mobile phone company rose $1.10, or 3.7 percent, to $31.66.
Bookseller Borders Group Inc. is scheduled to release first-quarter results Tuesday after the markets close. Borders fell 15 cents to $23.26.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.11 billion shares.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 5.30, or 0.64 percent, at 835.23.
The dollar slipped against other major currencies, and gold prices climbed.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.48 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.55 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.54 percent, and France's CAC-40 was down 0.25 percent.

Source: AP

Labels: ASN, AV, BCS, CDWC, LEH, URS, VOD, XOM