- First Data Secures Long Term Relationship With Alpha Bank -
- Deal Heralds the Entry of Leading Global Payments Provider to Greece and
Southeastern Europe -
DENVER, June 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), a
global leader in electronic commerce and payment services, today announced it
has signed an agreement to acquire Delta Singular Outsourcing Services S.A.
(DSOS), the payment processing and outsourcing division and fully owned
subsidiary of Delta Singular S.A., a leading technology company in Greece.
Serving financial institutions and major corporations in Greece, the
Middle East and the Balkans, DSOS provides payment processing and outsourcing
services, including card processing, ATM and Point of Sale (POS) driving and
call center support.
Through the acquisition of DSOS, First Data has secured a long-term
agreement to provide payment processing and related services to Alpha Bank,
currently DSOS's largest client. Alpha Bank is the second largest private
commercial bank in Greece, the largest issuer of Visa cards and the exclusive
issuer of American Express cards in Greece.
"The addition of DSOS to First Data is clearly a strategic fit and
establishes a solid presence for us in Greece and southeastern Europe," said
Pam Patsley, president of First Data International. "It supports our focus on
global growth, brings complementary core competencies in electronic payments
processing and a long-term relationship with Alpha Bank."
The acquisition will create additional opportunities for clients in the
Greek, European and Middle Eastern markets and enable expansion of a variety
of payments services, including credit and debit POS processing, deployment of
merchant ATMs, cheque authorisation and money transfers in this region.
The transaction remains subject to Delta Singular shareholder approval,
First Data board approval, regulatory approval and other closing conditions.
Subject to those approvals First Data anticipates closing the transaction in
the third quarter of 2004. J.P. Morgan is advising First Data and Credit
Suisse First Boston and Alpha Finance are advising Delta Singular on this
transaction.
About First Data
First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC), with corporate headquarters in Denver,
Colorado (U.S.A.), helps power the global economy. As a worldwide leader in
electronic commerce and payment services, First Data provides credit, debit,
smart card and stored-value card issuing and merchant transaction processing
services; Internet commerce solutions; and cheque processing and verification
services to financial institutions in more than 70 countries on six
continents. Its Western Union and Orlandi Valuta money transfer networks
include approximately 188,000 agent locations in more than 195 countries and
territories. With more than 30,000 employees worldwide, First Data has
offices throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and North
America. For more information, please visit the company's Web site at
http://www.firstdata.com.
About Delta Singular S.A.
DELTA SINGULAR is a leading Group of companies in the Greek Information
Technology sector, formed in 2001 through the merger of two of the largest IT
companies in Greece, SINGULAR S.A. and DELTA INFORMATICS S.A. Providing state-
of-the-art software products, as well as integrated systems and IT outsourcing
services to the Greek private and public sectors, the DELTA SINGULAR Group
aims at establishing long-term relationships with clients in order to become
their strategic partner as far as Information Technology is concerned.
SINGULAR's contribution to the combined entity is comprised of its leading
market position and technical superiority in software development and
distribution, as well as a strong systems integration division, Internet and
e-commerce expertise, an extensive and reliable business partner network and
international exposure. DELTA Informatics brings invaluable experience in the
credit card services market and the Banking sector in general, as well as
reliability and trustworthiness in services outsourcing, such as card
processing, ATM switching and sharing and EDP services provision. The
activities of each company were completely complementary to each other, prior
to the merger.
FDC-1
SOURCE First Data Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.firstdata.com
CONTACT:
Media Relations, Mary Walker of First Data,
+1-770-857-7188, mary.walker@firstdatacorp.com; or Richard Cooper
of First Data International, +44 1268 296533,
richard.cooper@firstdatacorp.co.uk; or Kimon Antypas of The
Rowland Company, 0030 210 685 7280, kantypas@rowland.gr, for
First Data; or Alastair Hetherington, 0030 210 725 8194,
Alastair.Hetherington@fd.com, for Delta Singular
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