John H. Harland Co. to acquire Concentrex Inc. for 1.31 times revenue

Weekly Corporate Growth Report, Jul 31, 2000

The Deal: Joyn H. Harland Co., which is the second largest printer of checks in the United States has agrees to purchase Concentrex Inc. for $140 million including the assumtion of debt. After the announcement of the acquisition was released, shares of Harland fell 6.25 cents to close at $14.50, while Concentrex rose 70 percent, or $2.81, to close at $6.81, in Nasdaq trading.

Discussion: Concentrex Inc., formerly CFI ProServices, provides software for financial institutions and automates the lending, customer service, sales, and backoffice processes of more than 5,500 banks, thrifts and credit unions. It also makes online banking software for consumers and small businesses, and has developed an Internet banking portal. The company is based in Portland, Oregon. Implementation, consulting and related services account for nearly half of sales. Concentrex, which has grown through acquisitions, counts Bank of America, BANK ONE and Citigroup among its customers.

The John H. Harland Co. is the no. 2 check printer in the nation, only trailing to Deluxe, and also prints business forms. Check printing accounts for nearly 75 percent of sales. Harland also produces software used by direct marketing and loan compliance firms. Subsidiary Scantron designs and markets scannable forms, related software and optical mark-reading equipment used in educational testing. Scantron's eListen software allows professionals and organizations to conduct online surveys.