31st Oct 2005 07:01
NETeller PLC31 October 2005 NETELLER PLC ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF NETBANX • Acquisition of Netinvest Limited and its subsidiary Netbanx Limited, one of the leading UK independent full service payment service providers. • Total cash consideration of £12.36 million paid to Transact Group Limited. • Key strategic acquisition for NETELLER, enabling integration of the payment processing solution from customer to merchant. • Underlines NETELLER's position as a leading payment provider to the e-commerce sector. • Acquisition expected to enhance earnings in first full year after acquisition and provide operational synergies. NETELLER Plc ('NETELLER' or the 'Company'), a leading online money transferservice provider, today announces that it has completed the acquisition ofNetinvest Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary, Netbanx Limited (together "Netbanx"), one of the leading UK independent payment service providers, fromTransact Group Limited (the "Vendor"). Netbanx has relationships with all of the major UK acquiring banks, as well asMasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club, Pago and Euroconex. Netbanxwas founded in 1996 and currently processes approximately £10 million of creditcard payments each month. It has developed a complete payment solution,providing both direct and bureau processing to a wide range of market sectors,including FMCG, mail order, leisure, publishing, marketing services,professional services, travel and tourism and ecommerce more widely. Netbanxhas in excess of 1,500 merchants, including Royal & Sun Alliance, npower andCompanies House. Netbanx Limited, the principal operating subsidiary, reported revenues for the18 months ended 30 June 2005 of £27,708,385, gross profit of £2,503,699 andprofit before tax of £1,132,902 for the same period, with net assets as at thatdate of £1,881,994. NETELLER will retain all the existing employees of Netbanxand continue its operations at the existing Cambridge, UK, facilities. The total consideration for the acquisition is £12.36 million which was paid incash to the Vendor at completion. Of the net assets acquired, this includedcash of £380,000. As an already profitable company, the strategic acquisition of Netbanx isexpected to be earnings enhancing in the first full year after acquisition. Theacquisition brings the ability to process credit card transactions within theNETELLER Group, and is therefore expected to generate operational synergies inthe first full year after acquisition. Gord Herman, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The Netbanx acquisitionrepresents a significant step in NETELLER's strategy to strengthen its positionin the payment processing market. Netbanx will provide NETELLER with theability to process its own credit card transactions, retaining a greaterproportion of margin in-house, whilst also generating additional revenueopportunities by leveraging Netbanx's existing customer and merchant base in theUK. The acquisition of Netbanx underlines NETELLER's position as a leadingpayment provider to the wider e-commerce sector. We are pleased to welcome the Netbanx team to the NETELLER Group and lookforward to making Netbanx an integral part of the NETELLER payment processingplatform going forward. With over 1,700 online merchants serving more than 2million customers in over 150 countries, NETELLER continues to make steadyprogress towards its goal of becoming the dominant global online money transferservice." Enquiries: NETELLER Plc 01624 698 702 Gord Herman, CEORon Martin, Chief Operating OfficerEric Hughes, Chief Financial OfficerPaul Templeman, President UK & Europe 07885 811 125Tim Hoskins, Vice President, Business Development 07901 821 123Andrew Gilchrist, Vice President - Communications 01293 897 515 Citigate Dewe Rogerson 0207 638 9571 Sarah Gestetner/Seb Hoyle/George Cazenove Notes to Editors Netinvest Limited and Netbanx Limited Netbanx Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Netinvest Limited. NetbanxLimited was originally set up in 1996 in Cambridge to service the payment needsof Transact Group's business activities. Since 1996 it has developed to providea complete payment solution, providing both direct and bureau processing to awide range of market sectors. Its Bureau facility is now one of two bureausactively processing in the UK market - the other being WorldPay which is whollyowned by Royal Bank of Scotland. Netbanx Limited has grown into one of themajor independent payment service providers in the UK, with an active clientbase made up of blue chip and SME merchants. For the 18 months ended 30 June2005, Netbanx Limited reported audited revenues of £27,708,385, profit beforetax of £1,132,902 and net assets as at that date of £1,881,994. Netbanx'operations are based in Cambridge, UK. The company's website is www.netbanx.com. The NETELLER Group The NETELLER Group operates an online money transfer service that utilises andextends the existing international banking structure to provide a secure meansof transferring funds worldwide. A NETELLER account acts as a virtual walletthat enables customers (individuals who open NETELLER accounts) to load,withdraw and transfer funds by purchasing e-money. E-money can be instantlytransferred to or from any merchant (or internet site) that supports NETELLER'sonline payments system for goods and services. Additionally, funds can betransferred between individual customers in peer-to-peer exchanges. NETELLERhas over 2 million customers and approximately 1,700 supporting merchants,making the Company a leader in online payment services. NETELLER (UK) Ltd isauthorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to operate as a regulatede-money issuer. Further information may be obtained from the NETELLER's websiteat www.neteller.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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