News

E*TRADE acquires CCS

February 27, 2002

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- E*TRADE Group, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Portland, Ore.-based Card Capture Services, Inc., the nation's largest ISO. The acquisition will be accounted for as a purchase. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

E*TRADE and its newly acquired banking subsidiary, Telebank, will establish a branded electronic physical presence for consumers to conduct financial transactions via CCS' network of 8,500 machines in 48 states and three countries.

According to a press release issued by E*TRADE, the acquisition supports the company's strategy to overcome one of the final barriers to the widespread adoption of Internet banking and increase its penetration of the mainstream banking market.

E*TRADE further plans to leverage the ATMs to create a network of financial services kiosks that will serve as a physical delivery channel for cross-selling the company's products and services.

"This acquisition supports E*TRADE's mission of democratizing financial services by giving consumers even more opportunities and choices to benefit from the value and convenience of online banking and investing," said Christos M. Cotsakos, chairman of the board and CEO of E*TRADE Group, Inc. "Offering our customers a network of conveniently located ATMs will enable E*TRADE to capture a growing share of wallet and continue diversifying our revenue streams."

Mitchell H. Caplan, chief banking officer of E*TRADE Group, Inc., added, "We now offer consumers the best of both worlds, combining the high touch convenience of a broad network of ATMs with the power and added value of the Internet. Bottom-line, E*TRADE is gaining a high-performance company with solid revenue, positive earnings, technical expertise and an experienced management team."

The ATMs, which currently generate over 3.1 million transactions per month, are deployed in a variety of locations, including hotels, shopping malls, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations and entertainment complexes. CCS also has established relationships with several merchants nationwide, including RiteAid, Safeway, Coastal and Chevron.

"We're pleased that E*TRADE has acknowledged the strategic opportunities of our high-performance ATM network, as well as the strong performance of our management team and talented group of associates, by bringing us into one of the most exciting companies now driving the new digital economy," said Dave Grano, president and CEO of CCS.