infoUSA to Acquire Opinion Research Corporation
Monday, 07 August 2006
infoUSA Inc., provider of business and consumer information products, database marketing services, data processing services, and sales and marketing solutions, has announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which it will acquire Opinion Research Corporation (Nasdaq: ORCI) for $12.00 per share in cash. The total transaction value including the assumption of debt is approximately $134.3 million.
infoUSA will finance the transaction with cash on hand at the time of closing and borrowings under its existing credit facility. infoUSA expects that the acquisition of Opinion Research Corporation will be accretive to its earnings in fiscal 2007. The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006, is subject to customary closing conditions and the approval of Opinion Research Corporation shareholders. Opinion Research Corporation will remain headquartered in Princeton, NJ and will continue to operate independently as part of infoUSA.
Vin Gupta, Chairman and CEO of infoUSA, stated, "This is a compelling transaction that fits well with our strategic plan to leverage our existing capabilities and expand our presence in the market research sector. The services provided and clients served by Opinion Research Corporation are highly complementary to infoUSA's services and we expect that this transaction will create significant value for infoUSA shareholders. The transaction will allow our Donnelley Group to offer market research services to its customers and the Opinion Research Corporation team to offer databases and database services to its clients. The acquisition of Opinion Research Corporation is a significant step in infoUSA's plan to become a diversified marketing services provider to the corporate and public sectors. infoUSA pioneered the concept of multi-channel marketing in its marketplace, and with annual revenue of approximately $600 million following the close of the transaction, infoUSA will have additional scale and resources to continue leading the industry forward."
"This transaction delivers outstanding value for our shareholders and we look forward to joining the infoUSA family of businesses," said John Short, Chairman and CEO of Opinion Research Corporation. "infoUSA is a recognized global leader in sales and marketing solutions and we are confident that Opinion Research Corporation can make a meaningful contribution to infoUSA's continuing growth and success."
Opinion Research Corporation is a recognized leader in providing market research services to government and corporate clients in North America, Europe, and Asia. The Social Research unit of Opinion Research Corporation, which had a backlog of approximately $274 million as of June 30, 2006, provides research services to agencies of the United States federal government, and state and local governments. The transaction is expected to expand significantly infoUSA's existing public sector customer base and drive continued growth in this market.
Opinion Research Corporation's Commercial Market Research unit provides market research and data management services and marketing and sales support to a diverse base of Fortune 500 corporations. The combination of the Commercial Market Research services and infoUSA's direct marketing expertise is expected to result in cross-selling opportunities and the potential for infoUSA to generate additional sales from existing data products.
infoUSA's financial advisors with respect to this transaction are DeSilva & Phillips LLC and McColl Partners, LLC, and its legal advisor is Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. Opinion Research Corporation's financial advisor with respect to this transaction is WWC Capital Group, LLC and its legal advisor is Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP.