Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Hitachi acquires payment solutions firm Prizm

Japanese tech giant Hitachi has acquired a foothold in India's payment space with the acquisition of Prizm Payment Services. Hitachi has entered into share transfer agreements with Prizm shareholders, including Winvest Holdings (India), Sequoia Capital and Axis Bank.
Prizm is a leading provider of payment services using ATMs and point of sales systems (credit card swipe machines) to banks and financial institutions in India. Hitachi also manufactures ATMs and has market leadership in Japan. Hitachi and Prizm Payment Services will complete the share transfer by February-end next year under the terms of the agreement and subject to regulatory approvals.
Prizm Payment is promoted by Loney Antony, one of the pioneers of the outsourcing model for ATM deployment in India. The outsourcing model has helped grow India's ATM network rapidly in recent years. Antony was earlier ATM manufacturer NCR's chief executive for India. Neither Prizm nor Hitachi have announced the size of the transaction. According to some reports, the company is said to be valued between $250-260 million. The company had revenues of Rs 500 crore as on FY13 and over 1,100 employees on its rolls. "By becoming a member of the Hitachi Group, we are excited to capture synergies from the combination of Prizm Payment Services' robust customer base and know-how in India, and the Hitachi's expertise in IT services for financial institutions built up in Japan and around the world as well as its advanced technological capabilities, including cash recycling ATMs.
Being part of the larger Hitachi family provides a unique opportunity to expand our service offerings to customers not just in India but across the globe. This deal provides the management team and employees tremendous potential for professional growth," said said Loney Antony, MD, Prizm Payment Service.
"Hitachi sees India as an important region in its global strategy and is stepping up development of the Hitachi Group's social innovation business in the country. Hitachi aims to grow revenues in India by nearly 3 times to 300 billion yen by March 31, 2016," the Japanese company said in a statement. It added that ATMs are estimated to nearly triple in four years from around 1,00,000 in 2012. In May 2012, Hitachi acquired eBworx Berhad, a Malaysia-based financial IT solutions company, which boasts an extensive track record in internet and mobile banking systems, credit management systems and other systems, mainly for major banks in Malaysia and Singapore.

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