Alliance Data Deal May Be Back on Track

The $6.8 billion purchase of creditor Alliance Data Systems Corp. may be back on track after the Dallas-based credit card issuer, biller and processor Friday dropped a lawsuit it had filed against affiliates allied with its potential buyer Blackstone Group.

Blackstone bid $81.75 a share for Alliance last year, then backed out of the deal in January, claiming the conditions to the merger set by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency were onerous.

Alliance sued the Blackstone affiliates to compel it to move forward on the merger agreement ("Profits Drop at Alliance Data as it Sues Blackstone," Jan. 31, 2008).

In its announcement Friday on dropping the suit, Alliance indicated it may have found answers to Blackstone’s issues with the requirements set by the OCC. Alliance said it would work together with Blackstone to resolve the issues but warned that the deal may still not be completed.