Watch CBS News

Vernon Hills-Based Tech Firm CDW Planning IPO

VERNON HILLS, Ill. (STMW) -- A north suburban-based technology retailer which was taken private in 2007 announced Friday a return to the public market, with an IPO that could bring in more than $700 million.

CDW Corp., based in Vernon Hills, announced Friday it has begun an initial public offering of 27.9 million shares of common stock by filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The online and catalog retailer said it offering 23.25 million shares while stockholers are offering another 4.65 million, according to the statement. The IPO price is expected to be $20 to $23 pershare and bring in up to $738 million.

According to its S-1 filing with the SEC, CDW is a Fortune 500 company that provides IT solutions to companies in the United States and Canada. It sells more than 100,000 products from more than 1,000 brands, including hardware and software for "mobility, security, data center optimization, cloud computing, virtualization and collaboration." It employs more than 4,300 people.

CDW will use the cash from the IPO sale, and cash on hand, to pay off more than $400 million in outstanding notes and make a one-time payment of $24.4 million to Madison Dearborn Partners and Providence Equity Partners to terminate a management services agreement, according to the statement.

The firm, founded in 1982 as MPK Computers, changed its name to Computer Discount Warehouse in 1983. It first went public in 1993, but Madison Dearborn and Providence Equity took it private in 2007.

Company revenues rose from $3.8 billion in 2000 to more than $8.8 billion in 2010, according to the website, and reached a high of $10.1 billion in 2012, according to the filing.

J.P. Morgan, Barclays and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are serving as joint managers of the IPO, along with Deutsche Bank Securities and Morgan Stanley. Shares will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol CDW.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.