Vista Equity buying DH Corp. in deal worth $4.8B

TORONTO — A Texas-based investment firm is offering to buy DH Corp. in a friendly cash deal worth more than $2.7 billion, with plans to combine it with a U.K. company that has a complementary financial technology business.

Under the plan announced Monday, Vista Equity Partners would pay $25.50 in cash per D+H share. It would also assume D+H’s debt, pushing the total value of the deal to $4.8 billion.

After the deal closes, Vista would merge D+H with Misys, a U.K.-based software company focused on the global banking industry.

“We are thrilled by the prospect of combining these two leaders in the fintech industry,” said Brian Sheth, co-founder and president of Vista Equity Partners, in a joint statement with senior executives from D+H and Misys.

“Over the last five years we have worked closely with the Misys management team to transform and grow its global business and this is a great next step in that process.”

Toronto-based D+H was founded in 1875 as Davis + Henderson. It primarily printed cheques for all of Canada’s major banks but later became a more diverse company focused on technology and services for the banking industry.

D+H shares peaked in mid-2015, trading above $40 on the S&P/TSX composite index. But the stock took a tumble, falling to just above $14 in November.

The following month, the company said it had received expressions of interest from unidentified parties and struck a board committee to consider its options.

“After a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives, the special committee of independent directors and our board have unanimously concluded that this agreement is in the best interests of the company and our stakeholders,” D+H chair Paul Damp said Monday in a statement.

The takeover requires approval of more than two-thirds of the votes at a shareholders meeting, expected in May, as well as regulatory and court approvals. The deal is expected to close before the end of the third quarter.