Harland Takeover To Eliminate Competition
ATLANTA-The proposed acquisition of John H. Harland by Clarke American parent M&F Worldwide is expected to undergo intense scrutiny by federal antitrust regulators, as it once again removes a major player form the dwindling check printing market.
The deal combines Harland, the second-biggest check printer, with Clarke American, the third-largest check-printer that M&F bought last year for $800 million.
It is the second time in a year a Harland deal has eliminated a competitor in the market, following last year's acquisition by Harland of Liberty Enterprises.
All of the firms, including industry leader Deluxe Corp., have experienced diminished returns from their check businesses, as electronic commerce continues to eat into paper check volumes at growing rates.
Both Harland and M&F emphasized that the deal is conditioned upon approval by the antitrust division of the Federal Trade Commission.
M&F, which is controlled by billionaire Ron Perelman, has agreed to acquire Harland for $52.75 a share-a 19% premium over last Tuesday's closing price of $44.47 a share - or $1.7 billion. The M&F, formerly known as McAndrews & Forbes, is the Perelman holding company that acquired such name brands as Revlon cosmetics and Marvel comics and established Perelman as one of the preeminent corporate raiders during the 1980s and 90s. With Intuit's planned acquisition of Digital Insight, and Carlyle Group's acquisition of Open Solutions, it is the third takeover of a major credit union outsourcer in the past six weeks. As part of the Harland deal, Harland will be required to pay M&F a $52.5 million break-up fee if the deal doesn't go through. After the announcement, Harland shares rose 13% to close at $50.31 a share on the New York Stock Exchange.
MI CUs Offer The Gift of Energy
JACKSON, Mich.-Credit union members can give their friends and relatives something different to warm their hearts-and bodies-this Christmas: the gift of energy. Five credit unions around the state are offering members gift certificates of up to $50 that recipients can use to defray the costs of their monthly electric bill with Consumers Energy during these cold winter months.
Consumers Energy, a unit of CMS Energy, is the state's dominant electric utility and serves more than six million of Michigan's 10 million residents. Participating credit unions include: CP FCU, ELGA CU, Clawson Community CU, GR Consumers CU, and Consumers Choice CU. The gift certificates, available in $10, $20, $25 and $50 denominations, are also available at the Consumers Energy offices.
Tech Charged With Looting $281K
ALTOONA, Penn.-An ATM technician was charged with stealing $281,000 from machines at three local credit unions he was responsible for filling with cash. Randall Replogle, 40, has paid back most of the money he allegedly stole from ATMs owned by Blair County FCU, Altoona Regional health System FCU and Huntingdon County FCU, but is still short some of the funds, according to police.
Replogle called attention to his own scheme when he reported $30,000 missing from a Blair County FCU ATM, because he said he didn't want to be accused of stealing the money. After the credit union began investigating, he began to move funds between the different ATMs he was servicing to try and cover his tracks, according to police.
