Misys bid rival ends interest

By PETER CRIPPS
Published on 02/04/2012 09:56

Hopes of a bidding war for software group Misys ended today when a private equity consortium pulled out of the race to buy the firm.

The withdrawal by CVC Capital Partners and ValueAct – the company’s biggest shareholder – clears the path for a £1.3 billion takeover by US firm Vista Equity Partners, which last month secured the backing of the Misys board.

Shares in the UK company, which includes some of the world’s top 50 banks among its clients, fell 2 per cent today as the consortium followed Swiss software firm Temenos in pulling out of the auction.

Vista Equity plans to combine Misys, which employs 4,000 staff worldwide and was founded in the UK in 1979, with Turaz, a provider of trade and risk management software.

Misys chairman Sir James Crosby, former chief executive of bank HBOS, said last month that the 350p a share deal, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, offered “attractive value”.