Perth-based unlisted ATM provider Stargroup is set to be bought out for an undisclosed amount by ASX-listed iCash Payment Systems, after iCash announced today it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition.
Perth-based ATM provider Stargroup is set to be bought out for an undisclosed amount by ASX listed iCash Payments, after iCash announced today it has signed a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition.
Stargroup is an unlisted ATM deployment and electronic payment services provider with three wholly-owned subsidiaries, Star Payment Systems, StarATM and StarPOS.
Under the exclusive, non-binding MOU, iCash will acquire 100 per cent of Stargroup, which can then appoint three of its directors to the iCash board, including Todd Zani.
Mr Zani is the founder and former chief executive of listed company EZA Corporation, which was formerly called Ezeatm and adopted its new name this month.
EZA announced in September that it had signed a deal to sell its ATM business to DirectCash Payments valued at $14.1 million by way of cash, share buy-back and loan repayments.
Last week it announced further changes, with the appointment of Brett Montgomery as a non-executive director, following the resignation of non-executive director Robert Kelly.
Mr Montgomery joins a team of stockbroking industry players on the board at EZA, managing director Douglas Bruce, who is a former Patersons client adviser, and non-executive chairman Mark Jones, who is a current non-executive director (private clients) at Patersons.
Mr Zani was involved in legal disputes with EZA following his termination of employment from the ASX-listed company last June.
In February, he was ordered in a WA Supreme Court judgement to stop working with Star Payment Systems, which operates in the same business as his former employer.
Mr Zani was ordered to stop providing accounting services to Star Payment, which was registered in September last year, through his company, Ezetax, and to remove himself as a beneficiary of a discretionary trust associated with Star Payment.
Mr Zani also leased premises in Malaga to the business, which he was allowed to continue to do.
As a consequence of the June settlement of the proceedings commenced last December, Mr Zani agreed not to engage in conduct which would breach the restraints until October 5, 2014.
Under the terms of iCash’s MOU with Stargroup, the transaction would be subject to mutual due diligence, shareholder approval and the execution of a binding heads of agreement.
Stargoup has 50 ATMs deployed in WA, Queensland and New South Wales, which upon finalisation of the deal, will bring iCash’s total ATM network to 80.
iCash said in its announcement to the ASX the merged entity would also “aim to explore value-adding payment processing systems”.
The transaction is expected to be completed in February 2015.
iCash shares closed unchanged today, at 6.6 cents per share.