VeriFone Systems Inc. completed its purchase of rival terminal maker Hypercom Corp. on Aug. 4 after it reached a settlement with the Justice Department to sell Hypercom’s U.S. terminal business to the private-equity firm Gores Group LLC.
San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone announced in November it would buy Hypercom, of Scottsdale, Ariz., for $485 million. VeriFone and Hypercom attempted to appease antitrust concerns by agreeing to sell Hypercom’s U.S. terminal business to French terminal maker Ingenico SA for $54 million in April.
In May, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against the companies, arguing the acquisition would eliminate competition for point-of-sale terminals and would not create a new independent competitor.
Under the settlement announced Aug. 4, VeriFone and Hypercom agreed to sell Hypercom’s U.S. terminal business, including physical assets, and intellectual property.
“The proposed sale of the Hypercom assets to Gores will create an independent and significant competitor in the United States, both right now and into the future,” Christine Varney, an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, said in a press release.
VeriFone has had close ties with Gores. Hewlett-Packard sold VeriFone to Gores in 2001. Gores spun off VeriFone the next year, and VeriFone went public in 2005.
