Diebold has acquired enough Wincor Nixdorf shares to complete the purchase of its German rival, a deal that creates a maker of cash machines and systems with more than $5 billion in sales.
Wincor shareholders controlling about 68.9% of the share capital agreed to the offer by the March 22 deadline of midnight in Germany, surpassing the minimum threshold of about 67.6%, North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold said in a statement on Thursday. The company expects the deal to close this summer.
Buying Paderborn-based Wincor gives Diebold, with about 16,000 employees, a bigger presence in Europe,where it now generates less than 16% of sales. Wincor builds hardware and software, including ATMs and cash registers, for banks and retailers. The company used to be owned by engineering giant Siemens before it was sold to private-equity investors in 1999. It held an initial public offering in 2004 and currently operates in 130 countries with about 9,000 employees.
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Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf which plan to merge under the name "Diebold Nixdorf" were already in the midst of major projects to digitize bank branches and retail stores before the pressure from mobile devices led them to join forces to keep pace with innovation.
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In buying Germany's Wincor Nixdorf, Diebold would not only be eliminating a rival it would also gain new technology and retail relationships vital to its success in an economy that is growing much less reliant on plastic cards.
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The two companies combined will have a market share of about 35%, ahead of NCR with an estimated 25%, according to Kepler Cheuvreux. Wincor generated 68% of its $2.76 billion in sales in Europe last year. Founded in 1859, Diebold has about 16,000 employees.
The combined entity will be called Diebold Nixdorf. The deal marks Diebold's largest acquisition, topping the purchase of Brazilian ATM maker Procomp for $225 million in 1999, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
