Atlanta September 4, 2002 Three supply chain software providers announced that they would merge in a move to extend an existing partnership between two of the providers and to bolster the financial strength of the combined company.
Pre-merger partners SynQuest and Viewlocity, both based in Atlanta, will merge operations, and Tilion will merge into the combined company to provide approximately $13 million in cash to the new company.
SynQuest offers supply chain planning solutions, while Viewlocity offers supply chain event management solutions and Tilion provided Internet-based event management solutions for logistics and supply chain managers.
In addition to the approximately $13 million of cash received in the Tilion merger, SynQuest will also issue between $14.5 million and $17 million of new stock.
The merger is subject to certain closing conditions and approval by the shareholders of SynQuest and Viewlocity. The transactions are expected to close by December 31, 2002.
Following the merger, SynQuest will remain as the surviving legal entity. Jeffrey Simpson, current CEO of Viewlocity, will serve as chairman and CEO of the merged company.
The new company will offer a combined solution with supply chain planning and execution capabilities for customers with complex, extended supply chains.
"Our visions are amazingly similar, to combine planning and event management across the supply chain in a way that enables our customers to become more agile and bottom line focused," said Simpson. "Our two companies were approaching that vision from different directions. This merger creates the opportunity to accelerate achievement of our shared vision."
"The merger will allow us to create a company with much broader capabilities and more resources," said Joseph Trino, CEO of SynQuest. "We also believe that the substantial economies of the merger will create a more efficient and profitable organization, enhancing shareholder value."
"The merger will create a well-funded supply chain company with successful customers and a significant value proposition," said Peter Shields, CEO of Tilion.
Following the merger, the combined company intends to sell and service all existing products and will initially focus on the automotive, consumer durables, industrial, high tech, printed packaging, retail/consumer packaged goods and third-party logistics markets. In addition, the combined companies intend to carry forward existing partnership agreements to the new entity.
SynQuest and Viewlocity will establish a transition team to assess and determine the specific technological and operational integration steps to create unified products and organizations.
SynQuest's customers include Ford Motor Co., Nissan North America and Penske Logistics, while Viewlocity's customers include Dell, DHL and DSC Logistics.
