Ingenico agrees US$54m deal for Hypercom’s US payments division

‘The acquisition… is a major step in our strategic development notably aimed at accelerating the adoption of contactless NFC technology,’ says the French firm’s CEO.

Ingenico
INGENICO: Buy accelerates the French firm's presence in a key strategic market

French point-of-sale terminal firm Ingenico has agreed a US$54million (£33.4m) cash deal to buy the US payments systems business of Hypercom, the company has announced.

Philippe Lazare, CEO of Ingenico, said the deal was a “major step” towards growing his firm’s activities in the US market and accelerating the adoption of NFC technology. He added that Thierry Denis from Ingenico’s Asia Pacific operation has been appointed president of Ingenico North America, reporting directly to the CEO.

Ingenico’s purchase of Hypercom’s US payments division is expected to happen immediately before US electronic payment services giant Verifone completes its US$485m (£300m) acquisition of the rest of Hypercom in the second half of this year.

As reported by NFC World last weekVivotech, the NFC software and systems company, had announced it wanted to buy Hypercom’s US arm, but the French firm has now sealed the deal.

In a statement Lazare said: “The acquisition of Hypercom’s US business is a major step in our strategic development notably aimed at accelerating the adoption of contactless NFC technology.

“This will enable us to accelerate our presence in the US through a promising combination of innovative product offers, expertise and extensive customer base. We are delighted to welcome Hypercom US team into the global family of Ingenico.

“I am confident that Thierry Denis along with the combined US team will successfully strengthen and expand our presence in the US payment solutions market, which we consider to be one of the key strategic target markets for Ingenico.”

Last month, Ingenico announced that the proportion of its devices shipped with contactless and NFC capabilities doubled in 2010. Some 21% of the terminals sold to merchants were NFC-enabled in 2010, said the company, an increase of 50% over 2009.

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