Shareholder Communications Corporation (SCC), a leading provider of individual shareholder response services, announced today
that it will acquire
Georgeson & Company Inc., the leading institutional proxy solicitation firm, creating the largest global proxy solicitation company with combined pro forma revenues of nearly $100 million. The transaction is expected to close this month. Terms were not disclosed.
A company spokesperson told the MFWire that this move had been first considered in 1996, and the firms had now agreed to the deal in order to expand their global operations. Georgeson has only recently begun to do business in Japan and has been starting to move into European operations. SCC currently has subsidiaries both in Canada and the U.K.
"Joining forces with Georgeson will enable us to accelerate our long-term growth strategy," said
Alexander B. Miller, founder
and chief executive officer of SCC. "Georgeson's reputation, international name recognition and client roster are second to none. These are two complementary companies, and together we will be ideally positioned to provide seamless institutional and individual shareowner coverage and to meet the fast-growing demand for full-service proxy solicitation, corporate control and corporate restructuring services."
"This merger creates a global proxy solicitation powerhouse with unprecedented capacity and scope, and is a natural
progression for Georgeson's future," said
William M. Crane, Georgeson's chief executive officer. "The combination of the two
companies is designed for the next phase of our growth and will allow us to have an even stronger focus on the international
markets and be better positioned to serve clients worldwide. Our long-standing relationship with many of the world's largest
public companies will provide ready access for Shareholder Communications' unique brand of shareholder services."
Miller, 54, will become chairman and chief executive officer of the combined company, which will be called Georgeson Shareholder Communications Inc.
John C. Wilcox, 57, chairman of Georgeson,
will serve as vice-chairman, and Crane, 49, will become president.
W. Sam Chandoha, chief operating officer of SCC, and
Ronald M. Boronkay, executive vice president of SCC, will retain the same titles at the new company. The five executives will also serve on the company's board of directors.
The new company will serve a combined client base of
more than 1,000 mutual fund groups and public companies representing nearly 50 million shareholders worldwide. The
combined company will offer proxy solicitation, corporate governance consulting, information agent services, merger and
acquisition services, post-merger services, exchanges, rights offerings and small shareholder oddlot programs. The combined company will have more than 500 employees worldwide and will be headquartered in New York at SCC's current offices at 17 State Street, near Battery Park.
 
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