Adaptec Acquires Symbios
Three years after attempting a similar move, SCSI leader Adaptec (Milpitas, CA) has acquired Symbios (Fort Collins, CO) for approximately $775 million. The deal is expected to close in the next 90 days. Adaptec will buy all outstanding Symbios stock for cash, with the bulk of the purchase coming from the company's balance sheet and the rest from debt, according to CFO Paul Hansen. Symbios executive management, who had been preparing for an IPO, will leave the company. The recent Asian economic crisis "certainly played a role in this," according to Adaptec CEO Grant Saviers, who said that Symbios' parent company, South Korea-based Hyundai Electronics, contacted Adaptec two weeks ago looking for a mostly cash offer. Adapted tried to woo Symbios in 1995 when AT&T put the company up for sale, but was beat out by Hyundai. While Adaptec billed the deal earlier in the day as the "biggest announcement of its history," analysts greeted the deal with skepticism. Standard & Poor's placed a double-`B'-plus corporate credit rating on Adaptec, due to concerns about "potential acquisition integration issues," including an overlap in technologies and a narrow business base. Wall Street echoed S&P's concerns; Adaptec's stock has dropped $3 per share in the last week.