13th Jun 2005 17:07
HSBC Holdings PLC13 June 2005 HSBC TO ACQUIRE NEIMAN MARCUS PRIVATE LABEL CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS HSBC North America's Retail Services Division is to acquire the private labelcredit card accounts and related assets of The Neiman Marcus Group Inc., theUS-based prestige retailer, and its subsidiary Bergdorf Goodman Inc. Subject to regulatory approval HSBC will pay the net asset value of the assetsacquired, which is estimated to be approximately US$527 million, based on afinal valuation of the credit card book and related assets. HSBC will alsoassume or repay approximately US$113 million of Neiman Marcus' securitisationliabilities. Under the agreement, Neiman Marcus will receive payments for a five year periodfor services to be provided to HSBC Retail Services based on performance of thecredit programme. Neiman Marcus will continue to handle core customer servicefunctions like new account processing, transaction authorisation, billingadjustments, collection services and customer enquiries. HSBC and Neiman Marcus expect to close the transaction by July 31, 2005. Joseph Hoff, chief executive officer of HSBC Retail Services, said: "There arefew names in retailing as well respected as Neiman Marcus. Helping our partnersgrow through enhanced customer relationships is what drives us at HSBC, and weare looking forward to reinforcing and extending the Neiman Marcus and BergdorfGoodman brands through every aspect of the private label card programme. Ourmarketing, database analytics and CRM expertise, combined with our investmentsin technology, allow us to support a positive customer experience across all thecritical interactions that the Neiman Marcus Group has with its customers." HSBC North America includes all of HSBC's U.S. and Canadian businesses,including the former Household businesses, and has more than US$300 billion inassets. The company's businesses in North America serve more than 60 millioncustomers in five key areas: personal financial services, consumer finance,commercial banking, private banking and corporate investment banking andmarkets. HSBC's Retail Services business is a leading issuer of private label (merchantbranded) credit cards in the United States. It provides customized credit cardsolutions for the world's premier retailers and manufacturers and has more than60 active merchant relationships, including Best Buy, Levitz Furniture and SaksFifth Avenue. Financial products and services are offered under the HSBC, HFCand Beneficial brands. For more information, visit: www.hsbcusa.com. Notes to editors: HSBC Holdings plcHSBC Holdings plc serves over 110 million customers worldwide throughapproximately 9,800 offices in 77 countries and territories in Europe, theAsia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets ofUS$1,277 billion at 31 December 2004, HSBC is one of the world's largest bankingand financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the world'slocal bank'. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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