Ceridian to sell major portion of its Retirement Plan Services business to The Newport Group
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (July 26, 2006) – Ceridian Corporation (NYSE: CEN) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell the major portion of its Retirement Plan Services (RPS) recordkeeping and administration business to The Newport Group, a leading retirement services provider based in Heathrow, Florida.
As part of this agreement, approximately 1,100 companies for whom Ceridian was providing defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plan administration services will become customers of Newport, effective immediately. Ceridian will also form an alliance agreement with Newport that will enable Ceridian to continue to make retirement plan solutions available to its clients as part of its suite of HR outsourcing solutions. Ceridian will retain and continue to provide retirement plan administration services to its current total human resources outsourcing (HRO) clients. The transaction is expected to close at the end of July.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Newport because it allows us to continue offering retirement services through a strategic alliance with a proven leader in retirement plan solutions,” said Ronald L. Turner, president and chief executive officer of Ceridian Corporation. “It also enables us to focus our efforts on strengthening our core operations, positioning us for greater flexibility to meet the growing and changing needs of our customers.”
According to Newport chief executive officer Peter S. Cahall, “There are several important factors which made this acquisition attractive to Newport. Because Newport and Ceridian RPS have the same recordkeeping technology and service delivery systems, there will be a seamless transition of Ceridian RPS clients to the Newport platform. In addition, we are retaining nearly all of the Ceridian RPS account management, compliance, and operations staff, and these employees will ensure continuity of client service.”
Cahall went on to note that “this acquisition is part of our strategy to accelerate our growth in key business lines. It will add significant scale to Newport and further expand our national reach, placing us in the top ranks of retirement plan providers.”
Source: Ceridian
