Headlines:
Record SunGard Privatization
The sale of SunGard Data Systems Inc., the financial software and disaster recovery company, for $11.4 billion has closed.
It was the largest privatization of a technology company ever and the second-largest leveraged buyout. The Wayne, Pa., company announced the deal in March and its conclusion Thursday.
Silver Lake Partners organized the group of buyers, whose other members are Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP, Providence Equity Partners, and Texas Pacific Group.
The stock ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange after Thursday's session and was subsequently delisted. Shareholders are entitled to $36 per share.
Cristobal Conde, SunGard's president and chief executive, said in a press release that, "This transaction has provided great value to our stockholders and represents an endorsement of our business model, industry leadership, and financial flexibility."
Scam Scores - with Dictionary
Phishing has finally gotten some respect.
The scam has been included in the revised second edition of "The Oxford Dictionary of English."
It is defined as "the fraudulent practice of sending e-mails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers, online."
Imaging for Teller Stations
VSoft Corp., an Atlanta banking technology vendor, said last week that Getronics NV plans to integrate VSoft's check-imaging software into its teller-station systems.
Many banks are already using imaging software in their back-office check-processing sites, but few have installed the technology at teller windows. However, many industry watchers say that banks eventually hope to convert paper checks into electronic images as early in the check-handling process as possible - when they are presented to the teller or deposited into an automated teller machine.
VSoft said the Getronics system can also be offered to corporate customers as a remote capture system, which would enable them to convert checks into images and transmit them to the bank for deposit.
Remote capture has become a popular service for banks to offer to corporate clients in the past year.
VSoft develops software primarily for regional and community banks. Getronics' U.S. customers include Commerce Bancshares Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., Northern Trust Co. of Chicago, and Citizens Financial Group Inc., a Providence, R.I., unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.
