HTC Global to Buy IT Consultant Ciber for $93 Million

By Lillian Rizzo 

Ciber Inc. won court approval to sell its assets to HTC Global Services Inc., after the company prevailed with a $93 million bid in an auction this week.

"These are very favorable results from the auction," said Judge Brendan Shannon at a hearing Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

HTC Global's winning bid for Ciber's North American and Indian assets was significantly more than the $50 million floor price set by France's Capgemini. HTC also agreed to assume certain liabilities as part of the offer.

Based in Troy, Mich., HTC is a provider of information-technology and outsourcing services. HTC Chief Executive Madhava Reddy said in court papers filed that the company is "uniquely positioned" to buy Ciber as it provides similar services. Court papers show that the privately held company had nearly $99 million in assets and about $45 million in liabilities for the period ending Dec. 31, 2016.

Due to the change in buyer and certain aspects of the sale, Ciber also received court approval to extend the maturity of its $41 million bankruptcy loan into June, as well as increase the size of the facility, which was provided by prepetition lender Wells Fargo & Co.

John D. Penn, a lawyer for Ciber's unsecured creditors committee, said his client was "pleased with the successful auction," looks forward to developing a reorganization plan "for a significant distribution to unsecured creditors." He added that he expects creditors to file additional claims for lease and contract rejections.

Ciber, which operates in the U.S., the U.K., and Denmark, and has centers in India, Vietnam and Poland, sought bankruptcy protection in mid-April after its balance sheet took a hit due to years of decline in demand and performance in its European market. Since 2014, Ciber's customers have left, making it difficult for the European operations to return to profitability.

The company said that its business operations in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden were shut recently.

The company's major shareholders include BlackRock Inc., Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC and Invesco Ltd., court papers show.

Founded in 1974, Ciber's business grew through acquisitions and, at its peak, had more than 8,600 employees. Currently the company has about 2,200 employees, as well as 315 independent contractors, and a subsidiary in India that employs about 1,350 people.

Peg Brickley contributed to this article

Write to Lillian Rizzo at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2017 14:16 ET (18:16 GMT)

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