CUC International Inc. will close the Florida headquarters of Ideon Group Inc., the Florida-based card services company it is buying.
Meanwhile, in a matter unrelated to the merger, Ideon said its investors were suing it over the failure of two credit card products.
Ideon's Jacksonville head office will be closed shortly after the $375 million stock swap planned for mid-August, Ideon said Monday. The deal was announced in April.
Some of the 110 employees in Florida will move on to jobs with CUC's national offices in Stamford, Conn., said William Lackey, Ideon's vice president of investor relations. Those laid off will qualify for Ideon's severance benefits, the company said.
The closing had been expected, said Laura A. Plevyak, vice president of investor relations for CUC, a provider of home shopping and membership services. It was "part of the $125 million reserve that was taken," she said.
"This is not a reflection on the Jacksonville operations of Ideon," Mr. Lackey said. "It is based on CUC's intent to consolidate their operations in an efficient manner."
The lawsuit against Ideon Group involves two troubled credit card programs - the Professional Golfers Association credit card and its Family Protection Network, a credit-card-related registry for missing children. Both programs received anemic consumer response.
The suit was filed May 24 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Damages have not been specified. Lawyers from both sides would not comment.
Dow Jones reported that the suit was filed by shareholders led by Frist Capital Partners, a New York investment firm that reportedly bought 405,000 shares of company stock before the programs failed.
Mr. Lackey, who is named in the suit along with former Ideon chief executive Paul Kahn, said it was "close to a class-action suit, arising from ... the shortfall in response to two new products." He said Ideon intended to "fight (the suit) vigorously."
CUC's Ms. Plevyak said her company was "adequately reserved" for the lawsuits.
