A firm specializing in collecting proxies for fund firms and others is now for sale itself. New York City-based Georgeson Shareholder Communications has recently put itself on the auction block. News of the decision leaked after the firm hired Goldman Sachs to represent it in talks with possible buyers.

Goldman Sachs is still in the process of writing the offering memorandum, reports the New York Post. Bruce Goldfarb, a Georgeson senior managing director, confirmed Goldman's hiring to handle the "strategic evaluation process" to the paper. Georgeson is privately held and may fetch up to $300 to $400 million in assets.

Georgeson ranks as the largest proxy solicitor in the nation for companies undergoing mergers. However, the falloff in merger activity may be pressuring the firm's revenues.

Potential buyers for the firm are said to be Mellon Investor Services, SunGard, DST Systems and ADP. Long shots include Thomson and McGraw Hill (which is the parent to S&P). Thomson, though, has been selling firms over the past two years after a decade-long buying spree.  

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE