RedPrairie to be acquired by private equity firm; Descartes launches all-cash bid for Porthus

RedPrairie Holding Inc., a transportation, inventory, and workforce productivity software developer, said today it is being acquired by New Mountain Capital, LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, for an undisclosed sum.

The announcement comes two and a-half-months after Waukesha, Wis.-based RedPrairie announced plans to go public. Those plans will be scrapped once the transaction closes, which is expected to be around March 31, according to a company spokeswoman.

RedPrairie CEO Mike Mayoras said the company was prepared to go forward with its IPO when it was approached in mid-December by New Mountain about a possible acquisition. RedPrairie's board and management ultimately decided the company could respond and capitalize on market conditions—including pursuing possible acquisitions—with more speed and certainty being a private rather than a publicly held concern, he said.

Mayoras said New Mountain's capital infusion will help fund RedPrairie's research and development programs, expand its sales efforts, and increase its global exposure. Currently, 30 percent of RedPrairie's revenues are generated outside the United States, he said.

"We did not anticipate we would be making [today's] announcement when we filed our documents" to take the company public, Mayoras told DC VELOCITY. Mayoras said he was confident that "we would have been successful either way."

New Mountain's Web site lists 16 companies—excluding RedPrairie—that constitute its "past and present" portfolio. Of those, three have a logistics component: MailSouth Inc., described as the nation's largest provider of shared mail marketing programs in the rural and suburban United States; Inmar Inc., a technology company that operates in the reverse logistics field; and Intermarine, which manages global infrastructure construction projects that involve oversized shipments.

Alok Singh, managing director of New Mountain Capital, said in a statement that New Mountain will "work closely with RedPrairie's management team and help them accelerate their growth and strategic development, making them an even more valued partner to their customer base."

RedPrairie has more than 34,000 customers in approximately 40 countries. Though it does not yet have final revenue figures for 2009, it expects revenue to be about 10 percent below 2008's total of about $300 million, Mayoras said. Profits are expected to be flat year over year, he added.

Separately, Canadian global logistics solutions company Descartes Systems Group Inc. has launched an all-cash offer for Belgium-based Zemblaz NV, formerly known as Porthus NV, a global trade management software company.

Descartes said its offer is conditioned upon Porthus's shareholders tendering 95 percent of outstanding shares to Descartes. The value of the transaction is expected to be between $40.5 million and $41.3 million, Descartes said.

Porthus's board and executive management have unanimously voted to approve the transaction, according to Descartes.