News

First Data to acquire German processor

December 29, 2005

BAD VILBEL, Germany - First Data Corp. is expected to acquire GZS, Gesellschaft fur Zahlungssysteme, Germany's leading processor of card-based payment transactions, during the second quarter of 2006, according to a news release.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

First Data serves 4.1 million merchant locations, 1,500 card-issuers and millions of consumers. GZS processes 982 million transactions annually and provides outsourced processing services for 8.5 million German and Swiss credit cards. GZS also provides merchant-processing services for clients that serve more than 300,000 merchants.

"With First Data, we stabilize the ownership structure of GZS and enlarge services and investment capabilities," said Bernd M. Fieseler, chairman of GZS's supervisory board. "In this respect, First Data is our favored partner to secure the future of GZS."

GZS also provides card-issuing and acquiring processing as well as cross-border debit and fraud-management solutions to banking clients. Easycash, a fully owned subsidiary of GZS, delivers network service provider and e-business services.

"We are very pleased that GZS's shareholders have selected First Data, and that we can bring renewed stability and investment capability to the company," said David Yates, president of First Data International, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "This acquisition is a major step for First Data, and demonstrates our commitment to the German market. We are convinced that we will bring real value to GZS clients by offering a broad range of electronic processing and support services."

Norbert Pawlowski, chairman of the management for GZS, said GZS is expected to play "a significant role" in First Data's international expansion.