CDW, one of North America's largest resellers of computer hardware and software, with a substantial stake in storage and security gear, has agreed to be bought by a Chicago-based private equity investment firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC for $7.3 billion, or $87.75 per share.
The CDW buyout is aimed for completion in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter 2007. First, though, CDW shareholders must approve the offer. And before that, CDW, with the help of Morgan Stanley, will open a "go shop" period, soliciting bids for higher alternative proposals for 30 days.
The transaction follows a recent trend toward large companies going private, as evidenced in the recent sale of DaimlerChrysler to a private firm. Experts say exiting the public markets can help companies simplify their administrative tasks, benefit from fresh investment, and lower risks involved in public ownership.
And for now at least, private firms are also exempt from some of the burdensome compliance regulations public companies shoulder -- though that could change within a year or so. (See Audit Pins & Needles.)
CDWs founder Michael P. Krasny, who controls directly or indirectly approximately 22 percent of the outstanding shares of common stock, has agreed to vote favorably when the merger is put to shareholder vote.
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
