JDA to purchase i2 Technologies

JDA to purchase i2 Technologies Supply chain software firm JDA Software Group Inc. said Monday it will acquire Dallas-based competitor i2 Technologies Inc. for $346 million in cash.
   The acquisition, JDA’s 11th in 10 years, is expected to boost JDA annual revenue to $635 million per year and help JDA create a global supply chain management platform.
   The purchase is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter.
   The all-cash deal, still subject to i2 shareholder approval, provides for a $14.86 per share purchase price for each outstanding share of i2 common stock. Series B Convertible Preferred Stock will be converted into the right to receive $1,095.37 per share in cash plus all accrued and unpaid dividends. Over the past 52 weeks, i2 stock has traded at $10.01 to $18.80 per share on the Nasdaq.
   JDA officials expect acquisition costs of about $45 million while the deal will allow the firm to recoup $20 million in annualized costs.
   Financing for the deal is being provided through Credit Suisse and Credit Suisse Securities LLC, Wachovia Bank, National Association and Wachovia Capital Markets. The firms had offered up to $450 million of debt financing to JDA, including $425 million in term loans and a $25 million in a revolving credit facility.
   'In an industry that continues to consolidate, scale matters. In that regard, the combination of these two companies will create one of the world’s strongest, best of breed software solution providers focused on the global supply chain,' said Pallab Chatterjee, chief executive officer of i2 Technologies.
   During a transition phase, JDA and i2 will operate in a 'business-as-usual' mode, according to JDA officials. ' Keith Higginbotham