Leading campus card provider The CBORD Group has been purchased for $367 million by Roper Industries, a company that provides engineered products and solutions for niche markets, including water, energy, radio frequency and research/medical applications. “As part of Roper we will have the financial and strategic resources necessary to pursue a variety of new initiatives,” says CBORD president Tim Tighe. CBORD’s management team will remain intact, according to Roper.

SARASOTA, Fla.–Roper Industries Inc. announced that it has acquired The CBORD Group, Inc., the leading supplier of card systems and integrated security solutions to higher education, health care and other markets, in a transaction valued at $367 million, including $23 million in tax benefits that can be utilized over time. Roper expects the addition of CBORD to be immediately cash accretive. The acquisition is expected to add $0.02-$0.03 to 2008 diluted earnings per share and to increase 2009 diluted earnings per share by up to $0.10.

CBORD provides integrated transaction solutions to 750 colleges and universities, representing 4.5 million students; 1,700 major health care licensees; and large corporate campuses, leading supermarkets, theme parks and dining chains. In total, CBORD systems are used by more than 6,000 organizations in the U. S., Canada, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The business will continue as CBORD and will operate within Roper’s RF Technology segment, and market its products and services under its current brand names.

“CBORD is an ideal acquisition for Roper that meets all of our key criteria,” said Brian Jellison, Roper’s Chairman, President and CEO. “The company enjoys leadership in its core markets with brand name recognition, long-term relationships with high customer retention, the broadest suite of integrated applications, and a reputation for quality service. Its financial profile is excellent with strong recurring revenue and EBITDA margins and low working capital requirements. In addition, CBORD has a prepaid annual subscription model that accelerates cash flow and reduces risk in many of its markets. There are a wide range of synergies between CBORD and our existing businesses. Most importantly, CBORD has extraordinary growth opportunities across its markets and in others it will be able to pursue as a part of Roper. The business will play a critical role as we develop solutions to extend our cash generation activities beyond water utilities and transportation to higher education, healthcare and other new end markets where CBORD has leading positions.”

CBORD stands out as a complete solutions provider in the higher education market. The company provides a wide variety of student and employee transactions under a single system, “one card” approach. Its card-based services also include security, onsite and off-campus commerce and student discounts. In campus food service, the company’s services include food management software and online ordering. CBORD’s health care business provides patient and employee food service enabling services that offer more choice and nutritious alternatives, streamline delivery and reduce costs, increase efficiency in order to allow more time and resources to be directed to patient care, and ultimately improve patient satisfaction.

CBORD’s management team, under the leadership of Tim Tighe, will continue to lead the business as part of Roper.

Jellison added, “We are very impressed by the accomplishments and talents of the CBORD management team, and look forward to working with Tim and his colleagues to enhance the value of those businesses through the application of their proven technologies to new end markets and expansion of their global reach.”

Tighe said, “Our management team is delighted that CBORD has found a great new home at Roper. Our customers will find that we will continue to provide the same excellent service and support, with full continuity of personnel, and that with greater scale, our customers will be able to expect even more from us. As part of Roper we will have the financial and strategic resources necessary to pursue a variety of new initiatives, and further improve our product offerings through collaboration with the other leading- edge businesses in the Roper family. Our future is very bright as part of Roper, which shares our vision and commitment to value creation.”

Jellison concluded, “We are pleased to enter 2008 with an outstanding cash-enhancing acquisition, and we are confident that our robust acquisition pipeline and strong balance sheet will yield other opportunities to build value for Roper shareholders during the year.”