Private equity firms Blackstone, Carlyle team up for $10-billion NCR Corp buy

By Devin Banerjee & Alex Sherman
NEW YORK: Blackstone Group LP and Carlyle Group LP, the two biggest private equity firms, have teamed up to consider a buyout of NCR Corp, according to two people with knowledge of the process.

The process, being run by JPMorgan Chase & Co, is in early stages and the company and potential buyers still disagree on price, the people said. NCR's bankers have sought at least $36 a share for the Duluth, Georgia-based maker of automated teller machines, a price the private equity firms have resisted as too high, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because details of the process are private.

"The price seems high," Gil Luria, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in an email. "NCR is highly levered, not generating much cash flow and barely growing."

Kevin Ruane, a spokesman for NCR, said the firm doesn't comment on rumour or speculation. Christine Anderson, a Blackstone spokes woman, declined to comment, as did Randy Whitestone, a spokesman for Carlyle.

The leveraged buyout (LBO), which would be valued at about $10 billion when, including NCR's debt, would be one of the biggest LBOs since the 2008 financial crisis and a rare joint effort by two of the largest private equity firms NCR, which makes checkout equipment as well as ATMs, is more than one-third owned by hedge funds, including Jana Partners and activ ist Marcato Capital Management, whose Mick McGuire joined NCR's board in November.

Reuters earlier reported that Blackstone and Carlyle are teaming to consider buying the company. The news service also said buyout firms Apollo Global Management LLC and Thoma Bravo are considering bids. Spokesmen for Apollo and Thoma Bravo declined to comment.

The company's net income fell to $191 million in 2014 from $443 million the previous year. NCR has focused on cloud-based software to replace costlier systems as retailers, a major base of its customers, reduce spending.