Diebold offers to buy Wincor Nixdorf for 1.7 billion euros (updated)

Oki Electric Industry

17/10/2015 16:12

* Diebold to pay 52.50 euros per share in cash and Diebold 
stock 
    * Premium of 35 pct to Wincor's Friday closing price 
    * Public takeover offer to be launched 
 
 (Adds details on premium, offer volume, background) 
    FRANKFURT, Oct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. automated teller machine 
maker Diebold Inc  DBD.N  has agreed to buy Germany's Wincor 
Nixdorf AG  WING.DE  for 1.7 billion euros  ($1.9 billion), the 
companies said on Saturday. 
    Reuters reported in April that Wincor had asked investment 
banks to come up with ideas to secure its future, including a 
potential sale of the company, and in June reported Wincor was 
in talks with Diebold, citing sources with knowledge of the 
negotiations.  ID:nL5N0X52IL  ID:nL5N0YV4CV      
    The rise of online banking and e-commerce has posed a 
challenge to Wincor, which has been struggling with low capital 
investment by banks eager to keep costs in check while still 
battling the lingering effects of the financial crisis which 
began in 2007. 
    The German group slumped to an operating loss in the third 
quarter, and is in the process of cutting 12 percent of its 
workforce to help respond to a deteriorating business 
environment in Russia and China, a sluggish recovery in European 
investment spending, and falling hardware prices. 
 ID:nL5N103109      
    Diebold is offering 52.50 euros per share in cash and stock, 
a 35 percent premium to Wincor's closing price on Friday. The  
companies said they had agreed on a strategic combination to be 
implemented through a public tender offer for all Wincor shares. 
    According to people familiar with the deal, final details of 
the deal are to be hammered out within the next two weeks. The 
52.50 euros a share offer price will not be changed, while the 
amount of stock Wincor shareholders will get is dependant on 
moves in Diebold's share price, the people said. 
    Wincor, which also competes with larger U.S.-based NCR Corp 
 NCR.N  and Japan's Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd  6703.T , 
specialises in banking systems such as ATMs, accounting for 
roughly two thirds of its annual sales, and systems for 
retailers such as Point of Sale (POS) terminals, which account 
for the rest. 
    While Wincor has a strong presence in Europe, Diebold's main 
operations are in the United States, and the companies therefore 
expect few if any issues with antitrust regulators.   
    Founded by Heinz Nixdorf in 1952, the company was taken over 
by Siemens AG  SIEGn.DE  in 1990, before being acquired by 
buyout groups KKR & Co LP  KKR.N  and Goldman Sachs Capital 
Partners, part of Goldman Sachs Group Inc  GS.N , in 1999.  
    It was listed on the stock exchange in 2004 and the private 
equity groups have since sold their entire holdings. 
 
 (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Alexander Hübner; Editing by 
Jason Neely and David Holmes) 
 ((arno.schuetze@thomsonreuters.com; +49.69.7565.1197; Reuters 
Messaging: arno.schuetze.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: WINCOR NIXDORF M&A/DIEBOLD