Infogroup to be acquired, go private

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After months on the auction block, big database marketing holding company Infogroup has entered into an agreement to be purchased by private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors for about $460 million, or $8 a share.

CCMP plans to take Infogroup private after the deal is completed. Infogroup's shares currently trade on the Nasdaq stock market.The deal was sealed about a year after Infogroup retained investment bank Evercore Partners to advise it on its options, including a possible sale."For Infogroup's clients and employees, the merger will allow for greater stability, focus and flexibility to make the strategic, long-term investments that are needed to advance the company's leadership position," said Bill Fairfield, Infogroup's CEO.

Including a debt refinancing, the transaction is valued at $635 million, Infogroup said.The deal, subject to shareholder approval, is expected to close this summer. Infogroup's largest shareholder, founder Vinod Gupta, has stated that he favored an acquisition of the company.

Infogroup, formerly known as InfoUSA, is the market leader in the highly fragmented database marketing business, with about 3,000 employees and 2009 annual revenue of $499.9 million. Infogroup owns more than 32 companies, including sales-lead businesses infoUSA, Salesgenie, Walter Karl and Edith Roman, as well as e-mail service provider Yesmail and demographic research company Opinion Research Corp.

Earlier this year the company began a reorganization to more closely align the identities of these various entities with the Infogroup brand. With the announcement of the sale of the company, no mention was made of whether CCMP will keep all the various companies and divisions intact, or sell off various components.