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Phoenix Merchant Processing Inc. has elicited one bidder for approximately 2,000 merchant accounts, a document filed in the U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, shows. North American Bancard, a Troy, Mich.-based independent sales organization, would pay $3.1 million for the accounts if the court approves the sale. Phoenix's merchants handle approximately 300,000 monthly transactions valued at about $418 million, Phoenix has said (CardLine, 2/13). Two years ago, Phoenix Merchant Processing, then known as Merchant Processing Inc. and under different management, ran afoul of the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Washington for alleged fraudulent dealings with merchants (CardLine, 4/17/07). Earlier this year, the court-appointed receiver put the company up for sale (CardLine, 2/13). The Phoenix merchant accounts are a "good value" and share the same processing network as North American Bancard, Marc Gardner, North American Bancard president, tells CardLine sister publication ISO&Agent Weekly. The Beaverton, Ore.-based ISO would integrate the merchants into its existing transaction network. North American Bancard acquired another merchant-account portfolio earlier this year, Gardner says, declining to disclose details of that transaction. The ISO is scouting for other acquisitions because the company has no debt and is well capitalized, he says. "North American Bancard is very well positioned in this financial crisis," Gardner says. The court filing says April 10 is the bid deadline. All bids are subject to review by a federal judge, and the process could take up to 30 days (CardLine, 2/13).
