News

Bain Capital, Advantage Partners to buy MEI Conlux from Mars

April 11, 2006

TOKYO - Bain Capital, a global private investment firm, and Advantage Partners, a private equity firm in Japan, are expected to acquire unattended payment systems provider MEI Conlux from Mars Inc.

In 2003, Mars purchased Conlux and combined it with MEI. MEI Conlux is a global leader in payment-acceptance systems used widely in vending, gaming, transport and retail applications.

According to a news release, the transaction is subject to normal regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With headquarters in West Chester, Pa., and Sakado, Japan , MEI Conlux handles more than 1 billion cash transactions every week.

"We enjoy strong industry relationships, a heritage of technology innovation and the No. 1 or No. 2 position in all of our business segments," said Mike Hayes, who will continue as president of MEI Conlux. "This positions us for significant growth and gives us the opportunity to invest more aggressively in new segments and geographies. The management team looks forward to working with Bain Capital and Advantage Partners to expand our business and introduce new technologies to improve service to our customers and consumers."

Bain Capital established offices in Tokyo, Shanghai, China, and Hong Kong to pursue investment opportunities in Japan and China.