SYDNEY -- Cashcard Australia Ltd., the country's biggest independent ATM provider, is preparing to sell Australian $300 million ($195 million U.S.) of shares, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.
The company, which owns more than 5,000 ATMs, has hired J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and JBWere Ltd. to manage an initial public offer by the end of 2003, the newspaper reported, without revealing a source for its information.
Cashcard wouldn't comment on the sale, except to confirm it had always planned to sell shares by December 2004, the newspaper said, quoting Managing Director Greg Baker.
Cashcard was formed in 1982 by a group of building societies needing their own ATMs to compete with banks. Current owners include Gresham Private Equity with 29 percent, Suncorp Metway Ltd. with 15 percent and St George Bank Ltd. with as much as 10 percent, according to the Financial Review.
Cashcard's October 2002 purchase of rival ATM deployer Electronic Banking Solutions kicked off a wave of acquisition among Australia's independent ATM companies. (See related stories Australia's Cashcard grows with purchase of EBS and ISO consolidation continues in Australia)
