Leipzig City Council Approves the Sale of perdata to arvato Systems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 2, 2012 -- On 25 January 2012, the Leipzig City Council voted to sell 100 percent of its shares in the IT company ‘perdata Gesellschaft für Informationsverarbeitung mbH’ to arvato Systems GmbH. With this vote, arvato Systems, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, is poised to assume ownership of perdata, subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities.

The Europe-wide bidding process concluded with arvato Systems emerging as the winner. The bid submitted by arvato Systems fulfilled the three criteria established by the City Council. The bid was financially attractive, with a purchase price offer of €18.05 million. arvato Systems submitted a robust strategic approach for perdata, and also provided contractual assurance that the jobs and the associated added value would remain in Leipzig. arvato Systems will guarantee that the company headquarters remain in Leipzig for at least eight years, and will also enter into an agreement ensuring job security for the over 180 employees.

Matthias Moeller, Managing Director of arvato systems Technologies, says: “We are excited about Leipzig! In the long term, we anticipate that Leipzig will develop into our center of excellence for power companies across the German-speaking countries. Maintaining a close customer relationship with the companies in the LVV Group is an important component of our development approach. Furthermore, we are committed to working together as partners.” The Executive Board of perdata, Thomas Nautsch and Dr. Percy Dahm, also see the sale as a great opportunity for the future growth of the Leipzig-based IT service provider and its employees.

The IT solutions provided by perdata are critical to the success of the public utilities industry. “We trust that perdata will continue to provide its usual high-quality services to the Stadtwerke Leipzig Group (Leipzig’s public utilities company) in a cost-effective, reliable, and highly flexible manner, even after its acquisition by arvato Systems,” says Raimund Otto, Executive Director of Stadtwerke Leipzig.

The proceeds from the sale of perdata have strengthened the financial and investment position of the LVV Group. “This sale forms an important component of the overall strategic realignment strategy for the LVV Group. The sales proceeds create opportunities for the LVV Group on behalf of the city in terms of debt reduction, investment in the core business, and sustainable financing for public transit,” says Josef Rahmen, Chairman of the Board at LVV.