DARWIN DEASON’S DANCECARD JUST OPENED UP

If you wanted to buy Affiliated Computer Services but couldn’t negotiate a price because of the exclusive agreement the company had with Chairman Darwin Deason and interested private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, today’s your lucky day. Actually, it was yesterday. The parties agreed to end the exclusive negotiating agreement, opening up the company to new bids and giving Deason leeway to talk to any interested buyers about his potential input. ACS paid Cerberus $7.5 million for bid expenses and will dole out $15 million if they go with another suitor. To all involved: Nice.