Press Release
9/13/2005 – In a somewhat unusual exit, Platinum Equity has inked a deal to sell five small software companies in a bundle to publicly-traded HALO Technology Holdings Inc.
Terms of the deal, which is slated to close in about a month, weren't disclosed. Upon close, HALO should have more than doubled its revenue to over $40 million, according to Ron Bienvenu, HALO's chief executive. That would mean the five companies Platinum is selling have combined sales of roughly $20 million.
HALO, Greenwich, Conn., is putting a combination of cash and stock. As a result, Platinum will own between 10% and 20% of HALO upon close of the deal, according to Bienvenu. HALO, which trades on the over-the-counter market, is a holding company that would have seven operating subsidiaries when it completes the deal.
Bienvenu said as an active buyer of small technology companies, he had known Platinum for years and was "proactively pursuing" acquisitions of those five small companies. He said they aren't core to Platinum, which has been shifting toward larger deals. Buying five companies in a bundle, instead of purchasing them one by one, helped save transaction costs, Bienvenu said.
The companies Platinum are selling include Tesseract, a provider of human-resources software; David Corp., which sells risk management software; Process Software, a provider of Internet messaging and anti-spam products; ProfitKey International, which markets integrated-manufacturing software; and Foresight Software Inc., a provider of customer relationship management software.
A Platinum spokesman declined to comment on the firm's returns on those investments.
Reach HALO at 203-422-2950; Platinum at 310-712-1850.
www.haloholdings.com www.platinumequity.com