Deal of the Week: i2

Silver Lake Sumeru last week agreed to buy i2, the Alpharetta, Ga.-based investigative analysis and visualization software technology business of ChoicePoint Inc. (NYSE: CPS). The deal is valued at $185 million, with ChoicePoint being advised by Merrill Lynch and Wachovia.

ChoicePoint says that it had “reclassified” the operations of i2 as discontinued in Q4 as part of a strategy to refocus on its core business.

The deal is noteworthy because by most measures, mega-deals are hibernating. However, that doesn’t mean that mega-firms are standing pat. Silver Lake decided to diversify downward in late 2006, by beginning to raise Sumeru to focus on mid-market tech deals.

It’s not paying dividends yet in terms of exits, but is definitely keeping the deal engine humming. In fact, i2 is Silver Lake Sumeru’s second deal this month, having had previously sponsored a merger between Audio Visual Innovations and Signal Perfection Ltd., in order to form a single provider of global audio video systems and integration services.