VeriFone Completes Acquisition of Point
VeriFone Systems, Inc. today announced it has completed the acquisition of Point, Northern Europe’s largest provider of payment and gateway services and solutions for retailers.
Point, based in Stockholm, has operations in 11 European countries and serves a captive network encompassing almost 475,000 merchant contracts. Through this network, Point offers retailers a full range of multi-channel services and solutions, including point-of-sale technology and support, gateway services, card encryption services, and e-commerce processing.
“This acquisition supports our vision of offering retailers everywhere a managed service to easily accept all existing payment types, including the evolving alternative and mobile payment methods being offered by traditional card brands and new entrants such as Google, PayPal, Groupon and Isis,” said VeriFone CEO Douglas G. Bergeron. “The new entrants can take advantage of easy and accelerated access to VeriFone’s worldwide installation of more than 20 million merchant lanes.”
Point will operate as a VeriFone company. VeriFone intends to extend the Point platform throughout the region and beyond, with the aim of creating the world’s largest infrastructure for rapid deployment of alternative payments and NFC mobile commerce.
To finance the Point acquisition and refinance existing debt, VeriFone has executed a credit agreement for $1.5 billion led by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Barclays Capital and RBC Capital Markets. The facility provides VeriFone with long-term debt capital at economical interest rates. The debt consists of 5-year Term A Loans for $918.5 million, a 5-year revolving line of credit for $350.0 million, and 7-year Term B Loans for $231.5 million. The company’s previously arranged credit facility has been repaid in full; a portion of the proceeds will also be used to repay VeriFone’s outstanding 1.375% Convertible Notes due June 2012.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for VeriFone Systems, Inc.
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements related to VeriFone Systems, Inc. within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of the business of VeriFone Systems, Inc. These risks and uncertainties include whether the successful integration of Point with VeriFone and the anticipated benefits of the transaction can be achieved. For a further list and description of risks and uncertainties, see our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. VeriFone and Point are under no obligation to, and expressly disclaim any obligation to, update or alter their forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
About VeriFone Systems, Inc. (www.verifone.com)
VeriFone Systems, Inc. (“VeriFone”) (NYSE: PAY) is the global leader in secure electronic payment solutions. VeriFone provides expertise, solutions and services that add value to the point of sale with merchant-operated, consumer-facing and self-service payment systems for the financial, retail, hospitality, petroleum, government and healthcare vertical markets. VeriFone solutions are designed to meet the needs of merchants, processors and acquirers in developed and emerging economies worldwide.
