Crane Co, the parent company of Crane Payment Solutions, is to acquire MEI Conlux and its affiliate MEI Conlux Holdings from Bain Capital and Advantage Partners in a deal worth $820m.
Payment solutions specialist MEI reported sales of around £400m in 2012 and has customers in over 100 countries. From 2009 to 2012, MEI’s sales have grown at a rate of 13 per cent annually. On a pro forma basis, the combined sales of MEI and Crane Payment Solutions were approximately $575m in 2012.
Crane acquired NRI, a niche European coin validation and dispensing business, in 1985 as part of the acquisition of UniDynamics Corporation. In recent years Crane has invested over $220m to grow and broaden the payment solutions portion of its merchandising systems business segment. Cash Code, which specialises in niche applications for bill validation and dispensing devices, and Telequip, which provides coin dispensing equipment, were both acquired in 2006. This was followed by the acquisition of coins and bills solutions firm Money Controls in late 2010.
This latest acquisition is in line with Crane’s strategy of “niche market leadership,” said president and CEO Eric Fast. “MEI is an outstanding business and a leader in the payment solutions industry, with a solid product portfolio, excellent technology and sophisticated hardware and software,” he said. “MEI materially strengthens our existing payment solutions business, which we have grown through three acquisitions beginning in 2006. Together we will be able to offer our customers a complete product suite utilising MEI’s leadership in bill validation and Crane’s leadership in coin handling.
“We will have the global scale to capitalise on key growth opportunities, especially in emerging markets. In addition, we will expand our capabilities to drive innovation and facilitate the integration of bills, coins and cashless payment options to better serve customers worldwide.”
The purchase of MEI is subject to regulatory approvals but is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013. Until the acquisition is completed, the two companies will operate independently under their existing management structures. Following completion, it is anticipated that Michael Hayes, president of MEI, will become president of the combined payment solutions businesses. Kurt Gallo, president of Crane Payment Solutions, will assume the role of chief operating officer.
