| Thu 4 Jun 2009, 8:00 | | ALT - Altech Acquires Majority Stake in NuPay |
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ALT - Altech Acquires Majority Stake in NuPay
ALLIED TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1946/020415/06)
Share code: ALT
ISIN: ZAE000015251
("Altech" or "the company")
Altech Acquires Majority Stake in NuPay
Allied Technologies Limited (Altech) today announced the purchase of 50% plus 1
share in NuPayment Solutions (Pty) Limited (NuPay), a payments processing
company focused on the automation of electronic debit orders, providing
authenticated and non-authenticated managed transactions within the card based
and electronic funds transfer environments.
Altech signed a share purchase agreement to acquire the majority shareholding in
NuPay, together with ancillary agreements from ABSA Bank Limited for a purchase
consideration of R53.5 million, on 29 May 2009.
"This acquisition perfectly fits Altech`s strategy of growing its annuity
revenue, which accounted for 79% of Altech`s total revenue before this
transaction. It also grows the critical mass of our IT division, further
complementing our existing operations. NuPay processes in excess of 500,000
successful transactions per month, via c. 2,800 points-of-presence. The
acquisition allows Altech to supply the switching services, POS devices and
related software, as well as provide ongoing maintenance and support to NuPay,
which boasts the largest number of installed POS terminals in South Africa
outside of the banking industry." said Altech`s CEO, Craig Venter.
NuPay complements Altech Card Solutions` transaction switching division by
providing expansion opportunities into new markets, increased transaction
switching volumes and the possibility of exploiting diverse transactional and
processing capabilities. NuPay also offers additional services such as a call
centre and field support, which will be expanded to include all of the merged
products and services within Altech Card Solutions.
"The transaction has various positive spin-offs for Altech and NuPay. NuPay,
through its extensive presence in the micro-finance payments industry, ensures
that increased volumes of transactions will be processed through the combined
switching capabilities. These transactions will continue to be acquired by
Absa. The transactions are also largely done via Point of Sale terminals, which
in future will be supplied by the Altech IT division" said Venter.
He added that substantial synergies exist between NuPay and Altech`s other
business units, particularly Altech Netstar and Altech Autopage Cellular, which
have 500 000 and 1 million subscribers respectively, that manage their monthly
subscriptions mainly via debit order.
NuPay was formed 10 years ago after the Usury Act of 1968 was changed to
prohibit micro lenders from retaining borrower`s bank cards and PIN codes as
security for payment. This change in legislation exposed an opportunity for an
increase in banking automation in the area of loan repayment. The automation of
payments increased the success rate of transactions processed through this
payment stream, thus reducing bad debts for the major banks. NuPay has
capitalised on the above, and has developed an impressive growth and profit
profile over this period.
The distinguishing and main service offered by NuPay, is Authenticated Early
Debit Orders ("AEDO"). AEDO transactions are originated via a Point of Sale
("POS") device by swiping a debit card and entering a PIN, allowing consumers to
repay loans using accredited and payment industry approved pre-authorised debit
order processes.
NuPay also supplies Non-Authenticated Early Debit Orders ("NAEDO"), where no
POS, debit card or PIN is required. Additionally, NuPay is a Transaction Service
Provider ("TSP"), and apart from processing bulk debit orders for large
organizations, also manages debit orders of institutions such as schools, clubs
and churches which do not have the capabilities to manage complex systems.
The company`s focus has essentially been on micro-financiers, but its services
have the potential to extend to any customer that has a need for a collection
mechanism. This could include small businesses or large corporates that wish to
manage their debtors more efficiently.
To preserve current efficiencies and standards, Altech will retain existing
NuPay management and staff, whilst providing supporting administration services
and strategic direction to the company.
Altech is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and is an investment
holding company, involved in the telecommunications, multi-media and information
technology industries, which employs over 5000 employees in South Africa and
abroad.
As a leading South African multi-billion rand high-technology group, Altech is
involved in the design, development and convergence of telecommunications
equipment, multi-media systems and IT solutions. There is a strong focus on the
convergence of these technologies and Altech is now also entrenched in the arena
of secure technology solutions.
Altech has ongoing access to the latest technologies worldwide, while the
group`s own research and development programme actively encourages and promotes
internal technology.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Craig Venter: Chief Executive Officer
TEL: (011) 715-9004
FAX: (011) 715-9045
CELL: 083 236 8000
EMAIL: cventer@altech.co.za
OR
Andy Baker: Chief Operating Officer
TEL: (011) 715-9023
FAX: (011) 715-9047
CELL: 083 657 2886
EMAIL: abaker@altech.co.za
OR
Joe Makhafola: Group Executive, Corporate Affairs, Marketing,
Government Liaison & Regulatory Affairs
TEL: (011) 715-9026
FAX: (011) 715-9047
CELL: 071 290 1735
EMAIL: jmakhafola@altech.co.za
OR
ChilliBush Investor Relations
Michelle Doyle / Renata da Silva
TEL: (011) 646 7152
CELL: 082 784 1814 (Michelle) and 084 304 7793 (Renata)
EMAIL: michelle@chillibushir.co.za and renata@chillibushir.co.za
www.altech.co.za
JSE code: ALT
4 June 2009
Investment bank and sponsor: Investec Bank Limited
Date: 04/06/2009 08:00:04 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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