Caritor To Buy Keane In $854 Million Deal

The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter, said Veronica Kibo, a spokeswoman for Boston-based Keane. Keane shareholders will receive $14.30 per share in cash, 19 percent more than the value of the company's stock at Tuesday's market close. The new company will be privately held.

Plans call for the two companies to combine under the Keane name. The merged company will have its global base in San Ramon, Calif., Caritor's current home, and its U.S. headquarters in Boston, as well as offices in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.

Mani Subramanian, chairman and CEO of Caritor, will head the combined company, which is expected to have more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

"As a private company, combined with Caritor, Keane will be better-positioned to continue to invest in growth, provide new employee opportunities and service its clients," Keane chairman and founder John Keane Sr. said in a statement.

The announcement comes just a couple of weeks after Keane appointed a new CEO, Kirk Arnold.

Arnold replaced Brian Keane, son of the company's founder, who left last year after being accused of sexual harassment by two female employees. In the interim, a three-person team led the company, but one of those executives, Richard Garnick, was fired in the fall. He has sued the company for wrongful dismissal.