Clarke American Corp., the No. 3 U.S. check printer, said Wednesday that it has arranged the financing for its planned $1.7 billion purchase of its larger rival, John H. Harland Co.
Clarke, a unit of M&F Worldwide Corp., the New York holding company controlled by Ronald Perelman, did not describe the financing arrangements, except to say its current debt would be repaid.
Charles Dawson, the San Antonio company's president and chief executive, said in an earnings call with analysts that it still anticipates closing the Harland deal in the second half, pending antitrust approval.
After the acquisition, Clarke would be "a more effective and efficient strategic partner for financial institutions," Mr. Dawson said. He ticked off a list of offerings that would become a key part of the company after the deal closes, including banking software, marketing services, call center operations, and educational testing. Before announcing the deal with Clarke in December, Harland had said it planned to spin off those operations.
Mr. Dawson did not take questions during the 10-minute earnings call, citing the pending deal.
Clarke reported that its revenue climbed less than 1% last year, to $623.9 million, but net income either doubled or fell by half, to $19.5 million, depending on the treatment of its results under prior owners.
M&F bought Clarke in mid-December 2005 from Honeywell International Inc., which had bought Clarke's previous parent, the British manufacturer Novar PLC, in March.
Because of differing interest expenses and income tax factors, Clarke's 2005 net income would have been $11.8 million if M&F had acquired it at the start of the year, or $40.7 million if Clarke had been a stand-alone company that year.
Clarke did not provide quarterly or balance-sheet figures.
