Talks between Irish electronic payments firm Alphyra and British ATM provider Cardpoint regarding a possible merger continued yesterday.
Balderton Capital, which backed the €88 million management buyout of Alphyra in 2003 which took it private, is believed to be interested in taking shares in the enlarged entity.
Cardpoint is listed on London's Aim market, which would provide Balderton with a market for its shares. A Balderton spokeswoman declined to comment last night, but said negotiations were ongoing.
In May, Balderton appointed NCB Stockbrokers and Goldman Sachs to advise it on the sale of its Alphyra stake, following a breakdown in relations between the two sides.
Blackpool-based Cardpoint has confirmed that talks are ongoing with a view to a possible reverse takeover. The combined business would have a market capitalisation of around £450 million (€662.7 million). Alphyra has operations in 20 countries and operates a payment network with over 150,000 point of sale terminals.
Cardpoint is a smaller entity which operates about 6,000 cash machines in the UK and Germany. In the UK, it operates ATMs for Bradford & Bingley and Norwich and Peterborough Building Societies, while in Germany is has a partnership with GE Money Bank. Trading in Cardpoint shares has been suspended pending the outcome of the talks.
