Thoma Bravo in talks with OTPP and GIC to jointly table bid for NCR Corp

US private equity firm Thoma Bravo is in talks with some of largest private equity investors about jointly tabling a bid for NCR Corp, in a deal that could value the ATM maker at around $9 billion, including debt, Reuters yesterday reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Thoma Bravo is in talks with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd and is also is in advanced talks with nearly a dozen banks on securing debt financing for a bid for NCR that could come in the next few days, the report said.

Last month, private equity firms Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group had joined forces to outbid other buyout firms to acquire NCR.

Though they have carried out further due diligence but are not sure whether they can offer enough for a successful bid, the report added. (See: Blackstone, Carlyle to table $10 bn bid for NCR Corp)

Duluth, Georgia-based NCR has been exploring options in recent months due to shareholder pressure. Marcato Capital Management, which has a board seat, has since last year been asking the company to explore strategic alternatives. Jana Partners is also reported to hold a 7-per cent passive stake.

Founded in 1884 by John Patterson, The National Cash Register Company made the first mechanical cash register and went public in 1926 and a year later changed its name to NCR Corporation.

It was acquired by AT&T in 1991 and was spun-off to AT&T shareholders in 1997, as an independent, publicly-traded company.

NCR Corp's main products are self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, check processing systems, barcode scanners, and business consumables. It also provides IT maintenance support services.

It posted net profit of $353 million in 2014 on revenues of $6.591 billion (44 per cent from product sales and 56 per cent from services).