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Commerce Commission reviews Paymark acquisition

France's Ingenico Group looking to acquire 100% of Paymark's shares.

Mackenzie Smith
Wed, 11 Jul 2018

France’s Ingenico Group has sought clearance from the Commerce Commission to acquire electronic point of sale terminals operator Paymark’s New Zealand network.

In a statement today, the Commerce Commission says it has received a clearance application from the group to acquire 100% of Paymark’s shares.

The Paris-based Ingenico will pay $190 million for Paymark, which is partly owned by ANZ, BNZ, Westpac, and ASB.

New Zealand's big four banks will keep their services agreement with Paymark as part of the deal.

The banks started looking for a buyer of Paymark in February 2016 as payments systems are increasingly contested by digital and mobile transaction services.

In January, Ingenico announced plans to integrate Paymark's network into its own business.

"Ingenico will now be able to expand its offering in New Zealand, delivering services and solutions in all areas of payments for small and large businesses and financial institutions alike," Ingenico Pacific region vice president Dominic White said in a statement at the time. 

The Commerce Commission says it will give the merger the all clear “if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.”

Paymark operates 140,000 electronic point of sale terminals in New Zealand, more than 75% of transactions in the country.

Ingenico is a wholesale supplier of point of sale terminals in New Zealand and operates a digital payments gateway business called Bombora.

The deal is also subject to Overseas Investment Office approval.

Mackenzie Smith
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
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Commerce Commission reviews Paymark acquisition
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