News

Efmark beefs up Eastern presence with purchase of ATM America LLC

August 4, 2002

BALTIMORE -- Efmark Service Co. of Westmont, Ill., has purchased Timonium, Md.-based ATM America LLC, an ISO with some 1,200 ATMs under contract and branding deals with several financial institutions including AmericasBank and Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Co., for an undisclosed amount. 

According to a report in the Baltimore Business Journal, the acquisition will make Baltimore the hub for Efmark's East Coast operations.

ATM America LLC owner Ray Jackson will take over Efmark's operations from New York to North Carolina and receive a percentage of the region's net profits, according to the Journal. Jackson's work force will triple from 32 employees to 100, and he will oversee additional offices in North Carolina and outside Philadelphia.

ATM America currently operates mostly in Maryland and Virginia from offices in suburban Baltimore and Richmond, Va., and has annual revenues of $5 million. Efmark, with revenues of $150 million, operates in 41 states.

Jackson, whose company will manage more than 4,000 ATMs for Efmark, said, "We're doing this so that we're able to continue to expand our business."

Jackson said one of his reasons for selling the company was that his insurance premium has tripled since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, from $60,000 to $180,000 a year. Also, by merging with Efmark, his insurance will cover up to a $20 million loss from theft from one of his vaults compared to $5 million in coverage -- which will allow him to service more ATMs.

Jackson's partners -- Matt Jackson, his brother and the company's director of service, and John Packett, director of cash services -- will take similar positions in Efmark's Mid-Atlantic operations.