Report: Koch Investment Firm Looking For Stake In Infor

Koch Industries is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire a a significant minority stake in ERP software provider Infor. It could be announced as early as next week.

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Reuters is reporting that the private investment arm of Koch Industries, the industrial conglomerate of the billionaire Koch brothers, is nearing a deal to acquire a significant minority stake in Infor Inc., which will value the business software company at an estimated $10 billion.

Infor, which is one of the world’s largest suppliers of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, helps companies automate their business processes. Its software solutions are used by customers in more than 200 countries, including thousands of industrial distributors and manufacturers in a wide array of industries.

The deal, if completed, would mark the largest investment for Koch Equity Development LLC, the Koch Industries affiliate that invests cash from the parent company. It would also represent Koch's largest push into the technology sector, Reuters said.

The transaction could be announced as early as next week.

Reuters first reported in September that Infor had retained Morgan Stanley to help the company explore options after receiving investment interest.

Neither Infor's majority owner, Golden Gate Capital, or Summit Partners, a private equity firm that also owns part of Infor, could be reached for comment by Reuters. Golden Gate and Summit had invested in Infor in a 2012 deal that valued Infor at about $1.8 billion, according to Bloomberg.com

That deal was completed alongside a merger with Lawson software. The combined group specializes in making enterprise software, working with more than 70,000 customers in more than 200 countries, according to the company’s website.

Koch Industries, which owns brands such as Brawny paper towels, Dixie Cups and Lycra, is controlled by Charles and David Koch, two of the world's richest individuals. It is one of the largest private companies in the world with annual revenues of about $115 billion, according to Forbes. With a presence in about 60 countries, Koch companies employ more than 100,000 people worldwide, with about 60,000 of those in the United States. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested more than $70 billion in acquisitions and other capital expenditures.

Infor has also been active in acquisitions. Last September Infor agreed to acquire cloud-based supply chain management firm GT Nexus Inc. the world's largest cloud-based global commerce platform, for $675 million. It also completed at least three other acquisitions.

Oakland, CA-based GT Nexus provides cloud-based services, or software hosted on the remote servers, that allow companies to manage inventory and orders, and help companies communicate up and down the supply chain.

Approximately 25,000 businesses rely on GT Nexus, including six of the top ten logistics service providers and 30 global financial institutions using its cloud-based business network.

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