Ingenico Acquires easycash for Cold Hard Ones

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus has tripled the capital invested in a Munich-based payment services company called easycash following its sale to Ingenico as the buyout firm ramps up its activity in Germany.



A major step in Ingenico’s strategic development

Neuilly sur Seine – September 25 2009



Ingenico (Euronext Paris : ING) announces today the acquisition of 100% of easycash Beteiligungen GmbH, a leading German payment services provider for an enterprise value of €290 million.



This transaction is a major step in Ingenico’s plan to position itself in the transaction services value chain in order to offer solutions around POS terminals and to leverage on the growth of payment transactions in the coming years. Finally, easycash acquisition will increase the contribution of recurring revenue on a per transaction payment type.



Over the past three years, easycash has, under the ownership of Warburg Pincus, built a strong position in payment services in Germany, one of the most promising markets in Europe in terms of growth potential. easycash covers the whole payment value chain in POS terminal services, transaction processing and loyalty solutions.



In 2008, easycash generated revenue of €85.7 million. Revenue coming from transaction processing represented 56% of total revenue, while revenue generated by POS terminal services and loyalty solutions represented 29% and 15% of total revenue, respectively. Thanks to its positioning on the payment value chain, easycash generated adjusted EBITDA1 margin in excess of 20% in 2008. In 2009, thanks to internal and external growth in Germany, easycash is expected to generate by year end pro forma revenue close to €100 million along with EBITDA margin expansion.



This transaction is expected to be accretive from 2010 in terms of earning per share (before purchase price allocation). Synergies have been identified and should mainly result from net increase in revenue, both in terms of POS terminals and payment transactions solutions.



Within the context of financing the acquisition, Ingenico negotiated a club deal bank facility of €270 million, including a €210 million term loan to fund the transaction and €60 million for working capital needs. This bank facility will replace the current syndicated loan at closing.



The implementation of final agreement is subject to the approval of German anti trust authority, Bundeskartellamt, and consultation of Ingenico SA workers’ council.



Philippe Lazare, Chief Executive Officer of Ingenico, commented: « The acquisition of easycash is a major step in the strategic development of our Group. This will enable us to accelerate our presence in the payment solutions and to grow our activities in Germany, one of the most promising payment markets in Europe. Finally, this acquisition will enhance value for our shareholders from the first year. »



Siegfried Heimgärtner, Chief Executive Officer of easycash added: « In partnership with Warburg Pincus, we have been able to rapidly grow easycash, taking it from strength to strength and we are extremely grateful for their support. For easycash, joining Ingenico represents a unique opportunity to strengthen our position in Germany, and to leverage on Ingenico’s reputation and international presence to meet our customer needs globally and to expand abroad”.



Jeremy Young, Managing Director of Warburg Pincus in Europe said: “Our extensive experience in the financial technology sector and history of growing companies over the long term has enabled easycash to undertake a period of significant growth both organically and through acquisitions and to consolidate its position as the market leader in the German payment sector. The firm's experience with easycash exemplifies our growth-oriented investment strategy and is consistent with our approach across our portfolio in Germany. We are very proud that under our ownership, easycash management has been able to foster its position in the German payment solution market. We would like to thank the easycash management team for their partnership and we are confident of the company’s continued success”.

easycash

Stage: Growth

Date of Investment: 2006

Web Site : http://www.easycash.de



easycash is the leading German point of sale (POS) Network Service Provider. easycash offers customised card-based payment solutions and credit card routing to a broad range of merchant customers. With more than 700 million transactions in 2005 and with a total transaction volume of €43 billion through 165,000 active connected POS terminals easycash is the market leader in card-based transaction processing in Germany. Warburg Pincus' in-depth expertise in the financial and business services sector was key to position Warburg Pincus as the company’s preferred partner. easycash will continue to build on its leading position in the German market and extend its service portfolio in new business areas and geographies. Warburg Pincus acquired easycash in November 2006.