LV computer seller to be sold

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 11:43 a.m.

A publicly traded Las Vegas company that leases computer equipment worldwide has hired an investment banker for advice on selling the company.

LEC Technologies Inc. has retained JP Turner & Co. to advise executives on a proposal to sell the company. One of the potential buyers: company President Mike Daniels, who said Wednesday that he would take the company private if he's the successful bidder.

New York-based JP Turner also will be asked to advise the company on the acquisition of Atlanta-based Golf Entertainment Inc., a privately held company that is acquiring golf courses and driving ranges nationwide.

Daniels said his company plans to acquire Golf Entertainment and spin off the computer leasing business into a private subsidiary, leaving the golf company as the publicly traded entity.

LEC announced late last year that it had appointed Ronald Farrell, Golf Entertainment's top shareholder, as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the company.

Daniels said LEC, a 19-year-old company with $40 million in annual sales, would continue to be headquartered in Las Vegas, where it moved about three years ago.

Among LEC's past and current clients are Tiffany & Co., Chrysler, Coca Cola, St. John's University and Lockheed-Martin. Daniels said the only Las Vegas connection among his clients is Tiffany's new Bellagio location, which uses point-of-sale terminals for credit card transactions.

LEC leases and sells hardware, software, computer peripherals, telecommunications and videoconferencing equipment. Daniels said his company's strategy is to provide state-of-the-art equipment to clients. Leasing equipment, he said, is the best hedge against the obsolescence of computers.

LEC's stock was trading at $1 a share today, unchanged.