What does Brightpoint buyout mean for local workers, economy?

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indiana has only 6 Fortune 500 companies. Now, one of them, Indianapolis-based Brightpoint, is being bought by a firm in California. And that puts a corporate headquarters and more than a thousand Hoosier jobs on the line.

It's a deal that's good for stockholders but could be bad for local employees. Brightpoint is a company born and grown in Indianapolis, but with the buyout, that could be over.

"It is geographically linked to the west side of Indianapolis," said WISH-TV Financial Analyst Peter Dunn.

About 1,300 employees in Indiana work for cell phone distributor and recycler Brightpoint. With its corporate headquarters on the northwest side of Indianapolis, and three distribution centers and one return center in Plainfield, Dunn said the buyout puts a lot on the line.

"And I think this will have significant impact on jobs, which then has significant impact on housing prices, on retail out there," he said.

Brightpoint is being bought by Ingram Micro of Santa Ana California. Ingram is the world's largest technology distributor with 105 distribution centers in 26 countries. It is paying $840 million for Brightpoint, including $190 million in Brightpoint debt. That's $9 dollars a share, 66 percent more than the $5.41 per share the stock closed at Friday before the deal was announced.

If approved, stockholders will do well. For employees of Brightpoint, nearly 4,000 worldwide, the future is much more cloudy.

"They've already said that $55 million in efficiencies are going to be processed. Basically they are going to cut $55 million worth of salaries. That's already out there," Dunn said.

But whether the cuts will be made among the 65 corporate office employees or the 1,200 or more distribution center employees, or somewhere else in Brightpoint, is not yet known. It won't be until the deal closes. But Dunn said, job cuts are coming.

"They basically put it out there [Monday]: The pink slips are coming. It's sad because this is a homegrown company that got acquired. But that's how things work when companies get acquired," he said.

Tough times in the cell phone business have hurt Brightpoint. One of it's biggest customers has been Reasearch In Motion, the maker of Blackberry phones, which has been struggling to stay afloat. The Brightpoint buyout still has to be approved by shareholders and regulators both in the United States and Europe. If approved it should be done by the end of the year. Then we'll find out, how many local jobs will be affected.