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Cardtronics Acquires I-Design

  • i-design transforms ATM screens into delivery devices for targeted marketing & 3rd party ads
  • Enhances ability to influence consumer behavior before, during & after the ATM transaction

HOUSTON, TX (March 7, 2013) – Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CATM) today announced that its indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary, Cardtronics Creative UK Ltd., has acquired i-design group plc. Based in Scotland, i-design provides the technology and services that transform ATM screens (and receipts) into delivery devices for interactive customer communications by financial institutions, as well as advertising space for retailers, third-party advertisers and independent ATM owners.

Built on the premise of helping financial services providers, retailers and third-party advertisers make the most of existing customer communications, marketing and ad campaigns, the i-design solution repurposes the ”waiting time” in a standard ATM transaction. On an i-design enhanced ATM, screen-saver loops and screens that formerly read “processing” or “please wait” (for example) can deliver targeted marketing/advertising messages, interactive on-screen customer surveys, plus a call-to-action message on the receipt after the transaction.

“In a world where consumer attention seems forever fixed on a screen—smartphones, TVs, tablets, laptops, etc.—it’s important to remember the attention-getting quality of a screen known to all demographics, the ATM screen,” said Steve Rathgaber, chief executive officer, Cardtronics. “Because an ATM transaction is all about that person’s money, they’re going to pay extra close attention to that screen. And with tens of thousands of ATMs under Cardtronics’ direct control, plus our existing relationships with 1,200 financial institutions and name-brand retailers on two continents, i-design finds its ideal home at Cardtronics.”

See it work — i-design on YouTube

How i-design does it all: creates, sells and designs the space

  • Software: ATM owner/operator licenses i-design’s proprietary, platform independent software to enable in-house targeted marketing and advertising on ATM screens and receipts.
  • Media Sales & Operations: For ATM owners/operators that choose to run third-party ads on their network, in addition to targeted customer communications, i-design manages and sells the newly created advertising space on behalf of the ATM owner/operator, which approves all content.
  • Creative Agency: Always a collaborative affair, i-design’s in-house design firm creates the customer communications, targeted marketing and third-party ad campaign media—specifically formatted for the ATM screen and receipt.

“Every transaction can be unique and thus more valuable from the consumer perspective—that’s what having i-design solutions in-house means to Cardtronics,” continued Rathgaber. “With i-design, Cardtronics gains new software to help financial institutions talk to and be heard by their customers. With i-design and its existing network of 62,800 ATMs, Cardtronics potentially creates a highly effective and international advertising platform for retailers and advertisers. With i-design, Cardtronics can help financial service providers deliver personalized messages to individual cardholders, all while enhancing the value of an ATM transaction with a relevant offer or reward ready for immediate redemption.”

“Merging with Cardtronics empowers i-design to invest in its marketing software and related services in a way not available to the company in its stand-alone form, which is outstanding news for our existing customers,” said Ana Stewart, founder of i-design. “Going forward, whether it’s leveraging Cardtronics’ top-tier financial institution relationships to promote our interactive targeted marketing software or using Cardtronics’ ATM fleet as a catalyst to expand our third-party advertising capabilities at key retailers—as a part of Cardtronics i-design has an opportunity to accelerate its growth, achieve greater scale and expand its leadership on a global basis.”

Scope of i-design
In addition to having its origins, base of operations and largest concentration of clients in the United Kingdom, i-design has clients in continental Europe, the United States, Canada and South America. Having built a client base featuring 10 major ATM network owners, as well as many of the U.K.’s best known banks and supermarkets, i-design has licensed its software across an aggregate fleet of 30,000 ATMs, and of that number 8,500 ATMs are currently available for third-party advertising. For both the total licensed ATM estate and available-for-advertising counts, the majority are located in the U.K.

Plans for i-design
The acquisition of i-design brings in-house a marketing/advertising solution deployed by Cardtronics in limited fashion since 2010, primarily through its Bank Machine operations in the United Kingdom, and also at select Cardtronics ATM placements in the United States and Canada. Now a part of Cardtronics’ suite of ATM services, i-design software will be installed at additional domestic and international company-owned ATMs, as well as create opportunity for additional international expansion without significant capital investment.

As an additional measure to significantly increase the total number of ATM screens and receipts available to third-party advertisers, and to aid financial institutions’ efforts to generate non-fee revenue from the ATM channel, Cardtronics will also offer the i-design suite of solutions to the financial services marketplace as a standalone service. From an i-design product roadmap perspective, Cardtronics plans to advance work already begun by the acquired company to extend the full-service i-design marketing/advertising solution to other “screens” including mobile phones, digital signage, self-service kiosks and more.

Integration of i-design & Management
The i-design management team will continue in their current roles, including i-design founder and chief executive officer Ana Stewart, who devised the strategy for delivering ATM marketing solutions and brings 20-plus years of ATM industry expertise to Cardtronics’ leadership team. Additionally, Cardtronics values the skills, knowledge and expertise of i-design’s existing employees and expects them to play an important role in the further development and continuing growth of i-design’s business. The i-design offices in Dundee, Scotland and London will be retained, which together with the existing Bank Machine offices give Cardtronics an expanded presence and higher profile in the United Kingdom.

Transaction Details
As of today, March 7, Cardtronics has acquired a sufficient number of shares of i-design for a cash payment of 60 pence per i-design share to allow it to commence the process to compulsorily acquire the remaining i-design shares on the same terms. Total cash consideration will be approximately £8.5 million and i-design comes to Cardtronics with a debt-free balance sheet.

2013 Guidance
Cardtronics expects that the transaction will be neutral to adjusted net income per share and not have a significant impact on consolidated revenues in 2013.

About i-design group plc
i-design is the world-leading provider and developer of marketing and advertising software and services for ATM owners. Its newly launched next generation software, joono, enables banks and ATM owners to communicate targeted marketing messages to customers through multiple digital channels, including ATMs, self-service machines, mobile phones and plasma screens. As part of its offering, i-design has a media sales capability, atmAd, which manages third party advertising campaigns. In this way, the company offers financial institutions the ability to generate new revenue streams from their ATM/self-service estates.

Based in Scotland, i-design was established in 1991 and launched its marketing solution to financial institutions in 2004.

About Cardtronics (NASDAQ: CATM)
Making ATM cash access convenient where people shop, work and live their lives, Cardtronics is at the convergence of retailers, financial institutions, prepaid card programs and the customers they share. Cardtronics owns/operates more than 62,800 retail ATMs in U.S. and international locales. Whether Cardtronics is driving foot traffic for America’s most relevant retailers, enhancing ATM brand presence for card issuers or expanding card holders’ surcharge-free cash access on the local, national or global scene, Cardtronics is convenient access to cash, when and where consumers need it. Cardtronics is where cash meets commerce.

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