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JPMorgan Chase Bank to Acquire Management Software Firm Vastera for About $129 Million
New York, January 7, 2005 -- JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. said Friday it has agreed to acquire management software firm Vastera Inc. for about $129 million.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, a unit of financial-services giant JPMorgan Chase & Co., said it will pay $3 per Vastera share, a 50 percent premium over Vastera's closing price of $2 Thursday on the Nasdaq.
Vastera's shares, which traded as high as $2.75 as recently as Dec. 29., jumped in pre-market trading, rising 48.5 percent to $2.97.
JPMorgan said Vastera will be combined with the logistics and trade services businesses of JPMorgan Chase's treasury services unit. Vastera's products automate the trade-management processes needed for the physical movement of goods internationally, JPMorgan said, and the acquisition "will further provide JPMorgan Chase clients with a 'one-stop shop' that addresses the increasing challenges and risks associated with moving goods across international borders."
Completion of the merger is subject to approval by regulators and Vastera shareholders. Vastera's board has approved the transaction, and the companies said two major shareholders representing about 28 percent of Vastera's outstanding shares outstanding have committed to vote their shares in favor of the deal.
Source: Associated Press
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