NCR Offers to Buy ATM Operator Cardtronics for $1.7 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- NCR Corp. offered to buy Cardtronics Plc for more than $1.7 billion, beating an earlier bid for the ATM operator from Apollo Global Management Inc. and a partner.

NCR, based near Atlanta, proposed a $39 per share all-cash deal, according to a statement on Monday. That compares with the $35 put up by private-equity firm Apollo and Hudson Executive Capital LP late last year.

Cardtronics, which has a network of 285,000 ATMs across 10 countries, has benefited from partnering with lenders looking to offer customers access to cash even as they cut the number of full-scale branches. The trend has helped to offset a longer-term decline in transactions using hard currency.

Cardtronics shares traded 0.3% higher at $41.19 as of 9:58 a.m. in New York, having gained 15% on Friday, when Dow Jones first reported the NCR approach.

“Cardtronics’ debit network is highly complementary to NCR’s payments platform and will enable the combined company to seamlessly connect retail and bank customer,” NCR Chief Executive Officer Michael Hayford said in the statement.

NCR stock fell 3.4%.

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