NDS Group plc is now a private company, after the High Court of Justice in England and Wales approved the remaining elements of the share buyout by Robert Murdoch's News Corporation (NYSE: NWS; ASX: NCP) and two subsidiaries of funds advised by Permira Advisers LLP, effective today.
NDS's share was delisted from trading on Nasdaq yesterday. News Corp and Permira bought the public's stake in NDS at $63 per share for a total of $3.7 billion.
With the completion of buy-out, Permira owns 51% of NDS and News Corp. owns 49%. News Corp. first invested in NDS in 1992, and owned 72% of the company prior to the buyout.
NDS develops and produces encryption access middleware for television digital video recorders (DVRs), PCs, mobile phones, portable media players (PMPs), removable media, and other devices.
NDS's shareholders approved the deal three weeks ago by a near unanimous vote. NDS COO Raffi Kesten said at the time, "We were not surprised by the overwhelming majority. The deal is good for both the majority and minority shareholders.
Most of NDS's activity in Israel is based at its R&D center at Har Hotzvim in Jerusalem. Last November, the company laid off over 100 of its more than 1,000 Israeli employees in anticipation of what the company called "a challenging" 2009.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 5, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009