Minneapolis-based Ceridian Corp, rump of and successor company to the old Control Data Corp, has definitive agreement to acquire Comdata Holdings Corp for shares worth about $900m. The deal will create a company with $1,300m annual revenues, primarily from information services. Comdata holders will receive 0.57 share of Ceridian common stock for each Comdata share owned. Brentwood, Tennessee-based Comdata provides transaction processing and information services to the transport and gaming sectors, and had 1994 revenues of $243m. Comdata has a strong position in two large and growing markets, Lawrence Perlman, chairman and chief executive, said. Comdata will operate as an independent unit of Ceridian, retaining its name, management team and 1,850 employees. Comdata is a profitable, growing company, says Ceridian, which also likes the deal because it will enable it to accelerate using up of its tax credits. The price is a modest premium to the $19.75 at which Comdata shares closed ahead of the news: it has an indicated value of $23.87 a share.
