The French terminal maker Ingenico SA said Monday that it is buying Hypercom Corp.'s U.S. payment systems business for $54 million.
The announcement resolves the question of what would happen to those operations when VeriFone Systems Inc. completes its purchase of the remainder of Hypercom. Just last week, Vivotech Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., said it was in the running to pick up Hypercom's U.S. business.
VeriFone, of San Jose, Calif., announced in November that it would buy Hypercom, of Scottsdale, Ariz., in an all-stock deal valued at $485 million. It said in January that it did not plan to keep Hypercom's U.S. operations.
VeriFone's acquisition is expected to close in the second half of this year. Ingenico's purchase of Hypercom's U.S. terminal business is expected to close just before that. VeriFone said it would keep Hypercom's non-payment terminal networking products business in the U.S.
Philippe Lazare, Ingenico's chief executive, said in a press release that Ingenico's acquisition would "accelerate the adoption of contactless [near-field communication] technology," which many are testing for mobile payments.
The deal would also "enable us to accelerate our presence in the U.S., the world's largest payment terminal market," Lazare said.
Ingenico said that in connection with this acquisition, it has made Thierry Denis president of its North America business. Denis had been general manager of Ingenico's Australia business.
Ingenico made a failed bid to buy Hypercom's entire business in 2008.
