Venture Firms Cashing In Their Cardtronics Chips

HOUSTON – Cardtronics Inc. reported yesterday that its two biggest financial backers, venture funds CapStreet and TA Associates, plan to sell as many as 7 million shares, valued at as much as $100 million.

The secondary offering comes as shares in the world’s biggest ATM operator have surged to a high of almost $15 from just $7 over the past year. Cardtronics shares, which sank as low as 90 cents in January 2009 during the bottom of the stock market crash, closed yesterday on the NASDAQ at $14.76.

This will be the second offering this year by TA Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm, which sold 7 million Cardtronics shares for $84 million in March.

Cardtronics, which operates 25,000 ATMs in the U.S., is a critical electronic switch for credit unions – connecting to almost every credit union in the country through CO-OP Financial Services, Credit Union 24, Financial Service Centers Cooperative and Allpoint network.

TA helped fund the creation of Cardtronics in 2001, when the fledgling ATM operator bought several independent ATM companies. In 2005, TA made an additional $75 million investment to finance Cardtronics’ acquisition of 7-Eleven convenience stores’ 5,500 ATMs. Cardtronics went public in December 2007.

Cardtronics will not receive any of the proceeds from the offering.

 

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