SunGard Clears Final Hurdle For Comdisco Acquisition

SunGard Data Systems Inc. has cleared the final hurdle blocking it from buying Comdisco Inc.'s availability solutions business.

Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the acquisition would not violate U.S. antitrust laws. The U.S. Department of Justice then made a motion to appeal that ruling. Thursday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia denied the DOJ motion, clearing the way for SunGard to purchase the Comdisco unit for $825 million in cash and take its place atop the business recovery services market.

SunGard will acquire the domestic operations of Comdisco's continuity services, professional services, and Web-hosting businesses, as well as the corresponding operations in the United Kingdom and France. In fiscal 2000, Comdisco earned about $440 million with those operations. But in July, Comdisco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Thursday's ruling effectively ends Hewlett-Packard's bid for the Comdisco unit. HP had originally bid $610 million for the business, then raised that bid to $750 million after the Department of Justice said it would file an antitrust suit to prevent SunGard, the second-largest provider of business recovery services, from acquiring Comdisco, the third-largest provider. Prior to the deal, IBM Global Services was the leader in the field, earning an estimated $600 million to $700 million with business recovery services revenue in 2000.