A Paducah, Kentucky-based publicly traded company will be taken private following the completion of a $1.6 billion acquisition.
Computer Services Inc. (CSI), a provider of end-to-end fintech and regulatory technology solutions, entered into a definitive agreement this week to be acquired by private investment firms Centerbridge Partners L.P. and Bridgeport Partners in an all-cash transaction, according to a news release.
Under the terms of the agreement, CSI shareholders will receive $58 per share in cash upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to customary conditions, including CSI shareholder approval and regulatory review. The per-share purchase price represents a 53% premium to CSI’s closing stock price on Aug. 19, the last full trading day before the agreement was announced.
“After a thorough strategic review, the CSI board of directors is very pleased to announce this transaction and believes it is in the best interests of our shareholders,” said Steve Powless, chair of CSI's board, which unanimously approved the agreement. “Upon completion of the transaction, CSI intends to continue operating under the leadership of CEO David Culbertson and the CSI leadership team, with its headquarters expected to remain in Paducah, Kentucky.”
John A. Williams, chairman emeritus who founded the company nearly 60 years ago, is also in support of the transaction.
CSI serves nearly 2,600 customers in the U.S. and in 30 other countries, offering core processing, digital banking, managed cybersecurity, cybersecurity compliance, payments processing, print and electronic document distribution and regulatory compliance solutions to financial institutions and corporate customers. It employs about 1,200 people across the U.S.
The company's most recent annual revenue, for the fiscal year ending Feb. 28, was $316.6 million. Net income was $61.8 million, an 11.6% increase from the year prior.
CSI common stock is traded on the Premier QX tier of the OTC Markets Group Inc. under the symbol CSVI. It closed at $57 per share on Thursday.
“For more than 57 years, CSI has been known as a leader in innovation and customer service," Culbertson said in the release. "Centerbridge and Bridgeport have deep experience in technology and financial services as owners and operators. Working together after the closing, CSI intends to execute our strategic plans to expand and diversify our product offerings, transform our technology to leverage the scale and resiliency of the public cloud, and deploy optimized fintech and regtech solutions through our open banking and banking-as-a-service initiatives."
This is the biggest acquisition deal the commonwealth has seen since last year, when Louisville-based Appriss Insights was acquired by Equifax for $1.8 billion. That transaction closed in October 2021.
