Ciber to Acquire Metamor's Public-Sector Consulting

Systems integrator Ciber Inc. of Greenwood, Colo., announced Sept. 10 that it signed an agreement to acquire the public-sector information technology entity Metamor Industry Solutions Inc. and its subsidiary, Metamor Government Services Inc.

The two units, part of Metamor Inc. of Oak Brook, Ill., have $90 million in annual revenue. The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval and other customary closing conditions, Ciber said.

Metamor's parent company, PSINet Inc. of Ashburn, Va., is in bankruptcy. It is anticipated that PSINet Consulting Solutions Holdings Inc., the parent holding company of the entities being sold in this transaction, will begin bankruptcy proceedings this month.

Neither of the entities being acquired in this transaction, nor any other operating entities of PSINet Consulting Solutions Holdings Inc., are expected to be included in the parent's bankruptcy proceeding, Ciber said.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in about 45 days, were not disclosed.

The acquisition will put Ciber among the top 100 IT services vendors to the federal government and among the top 12 IT services vendors to state governments, said Mac Slingerlend, president and chief executive officer.

Ciber employs 4,480 worldwide and had sales of $621.5 million in 2000.

Metamor's public-sector expertise is in law and justice, health and human services and transportation. It employs more than 800 workers in 13 branch offices, six of which are in state capitals, and several other government installation sites.

Its state clients include Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, California and Texas. Its federal clients include the departments of Defense, Transportation and Health and Human Services, the Coast Guard and the Army Reserve Command, said Ed Burns, president of the public sector practice for Metamor Industry Solutions.

"[Metamor] not only offers general solutions to the public sector, but we believe their expertise in several vertical-specific applications is a significant competitive and sustainable advantage," Slingerlend said.