There are 220 employees at Pierce Leahy's headquarters. Iron Mountain's chairman and chief executive officer, Richard Reese, said few jobs will be lost in the merger. "We're not saying zero, but it will be minimal," he said.
The purchase will help Iron Mountain enter new markets and attract more customers seeking to store papers, computer tapes, optical disks and other information, the company said. Both Iron Mountain and Pierce Leahy had been expanding by buying smaller rivals, mainly in the United States, where companies spend roughly $5 billion annually to store records.
"This isn't about eliminating a competitor, but about being a better provider to their customers," said Franco Turrinelli, an analyst at William Blair & Co., who has a "buy" rating on Iron Mountain shares. "They can improve the service by effectively doubling the number of locations they have."
Together, the companies have more than 100,000 customers, 8,600 employees, and 77 operations in the United States and 33 internationally. Annualized revenue for a combined company, based on the second quarter ended June 30, was put at approximately $870 million.
J. Peter Pierce, Pierce Leahy's president and chief executive officer, called the agreement a "two-year mating dance that came together [Wednesday night] officially." He will become president of Iron Mountain as well as president and chief operating officer of Iron Mountain's records-management operating division, which will be moved to King of Prussia until a new facility is completed in Collegeville next year.
"We would like to think over time there will be job creation, not job deletion," Pierce said.
Iron Mountain will keep its nine seats on the board of directors and add two for Pierce Leahy officials, including Pierce. Leo W. Pierce Sr., Pierce Leahy's chairman and founder, will become chairman emeritus of the Iron Mountain board.
"We will be, together, a far more efficient operation than either of us are currently," Reese said.
