Harland Shareholders Approve Takeover by Perelman’s M&F Worldwide

ATLANTA – In a deal that will shrink the number of check printers again, shareholders of John H. Harland Co. approved the takeover of the third largest check printer by M&F Worldwide, the company controlled by corporate raider Ron Perelman, which bought Clarke American check printers in 2005. The deal, for $52.75 a share, or a total of $1.7 billion, will eliminate yet another competitor from the market, following Harland’s 2005 acquisition of Liberty, and have the combined Harland/Clarke American operations exceed Deluxe Corp. as the nation’s largest check printer. The combination of the two is still subject to approval by federal regulators who are examining the deal for antitrust implications. The takeover of Harland, one of the most popular outsourcer for credit unions, follows closely recent deals for such credit union outsourcers as Open Solutions, Digital Insight, Corillian and PHH Corp.