A leading electronic evidence discovery vendor may be changing ownership structure.
The August 26th Transaction Granted Early Termination published by the FTC (PDF) lists private equity investor Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, e-discovery vendor Electronic Evidence Discovery Inc., and EED founder and CEO John Jesson.
Under the Hart Scott Rodino act, parties to certain proposed transactions must file a “Hart Scott Rodino” notice and provide the government an opportunity to review the transaction for potential antitrust problems. The FTC web site states that the agency grants “a request for ‘early termination’ … only after compliance with the rules and if both the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice Antitrust Division have completed their review and determined not to take any enforcement action during the waiting period.”
I am neither a dealmaker nor merger expert, but I suspect this suggests a transaction between Welsh Carson and EED is imminent. Welsh Carson says that it “believes that its value-added investment strategy is best executed when it acquires operational or board control of companies.”