Appliance Deployment Featured Article

Headquartered in Canton, Mass. and a major company deeply rooted in the appliance deployment industry since 1997, NEI (News - Alert) has recently entered into a definitive merger agreement with UNICOM Systems, Inc. and a new UNICOM subsidiary.

As per this agreement, UNICOM, a global information technology company and part of the UNICOM (News - Alert) group of companies, will acquire NEI for $1.45 per common share in cash.

The transaction, which is valued at approximately $63.2 million, is subject to customary closing conditions and the approval of NEI shareholders. Both the boards of directors of NEI and UNICOM have unanimously approved the transaction, and it has been recommended by the NEI Board that NEI shareholders vote in favor of the transaction.

In a press release, Greg Shortell, president and chief executive officer of NEI said, “This offer represents an attractive opportunity to deliver premium value and liquidity to NEI's shareholders. I am excited about the potential for future growth with a strategic partner of UNICOM's stature and global reach. This is an excellent opportunity to realize short- and long-term benefits for our customers, employees and technology partners."

Shareholders of NEI holding shares representing approximately 14.9 percent of the shares outstanding have entered into agreements with UNICOM, where they have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the proposed merger.

Once the merger has been completed, the appliance deployment expert will then become a private company, wholly owned by UNICOM. However, NEI will be permitted to solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties through July 18, 2012.  

The definitive merger agreement also contains certain break-up fees payable to each party in connection with the termination of the definitive merger agreement under certain circumstances.

NEI has been busy recently, introducing a robust set of innovative products to speed up the implementation of Intel's (News - Alert) Xeon Processor E5-2600 family. To read the full report, click here.

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