Ciber to buy AlphaNet Inc. for $29 million

Ciber Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to purchase AlphaNet Solutions Inc. for $28.7 million, the company announced April 21.

Greenwood, Colo.-based Ciber will buy AlphaNet of Cedar Knolls, N.J., for $4.05 per share, payable in cash and, at the election of AlphaNet's shareholders, up to about 12 percent in Ciber common stock.

With about 6.4 million shares outstanding and stock options of about 700,000, the purchase price comes to about $28.75 million, according to Ciber.

An important element of the purchase price is AlphaNet's cash balance of about $21 million, which is about $3 per AlphaNet share. AlphaNet has about 200 employees and revenue of about $22 million annually, according to Ciber.

The deal is expected to close in June, Ciber said.

Mac Slingerland, Ciber's president and chief executive officer, said the acquisition will complement Ciber's work in the New York-New Jersey metro area. It also will add critical mass to Ciber's network operating center and 24/7 system monitoring business, supplement its technology implementation and consulting services and add capability in project management and technology training, he said.

Moreover, the combined operations will boost Ciber's desktop support and disaster recovery offerings, Slingerland said.

AlphaNet is a provider of networking services and equipment, as well as Internet consulting and technical training services.

Ciber offers systems integration to the commercial and government sectors. The company has about 6,000 employees and had annual sales of $608.3 million in fiscal 2002.