A consortium of seven investment firms announced Monday that it was buying the U.S. technology company SunGard Data Systems Inc. in a deal worth 11.3 billion dollars, the largest private takeover in 16 years. Besides taking on SunGard's debt, the consortium also offered 36 dollars in cash for each of SunGard's shares, a 14-per-cent premium over the pre-Easter weekend close of 31.55 dollars but a 44-per-cent increase from the market price on March 21, before the takeover talks were made public. Spearheaded by Silver Lake Partners, which specializes in technology firms, the consortium includes Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, and Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts. Providence Equity Partners and Texas Pacific Group are also involved. Consortium partners were to carry equal weight in the SunGard takeover. SunGard's board has approved the deal, which must also get an OK from its shareholders in an approval process expected sometime after July. The size of the sale also was expected to require approval from regulatory bodies. --More 2346 Local Time 2046 GMT
