HDX to Acquire Chicago area based Premier Payments Systems Inc.

TORONTO, Oct. 1, 2014 /CNW/ - Posera-HDX Ltd. (TSX - "HDX") announced today that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Premier Payments Systems Inc. ("Premier") of Oak Brook, Illinois, USA.  The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2010, Premier Payment Systems Inc. provides payment processing solutions for debit and credit transactions to clients throughout the United States.  

Based in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois Premier is superbly situated to fuel HDX's growth strategy in the United States. The combined company is expecting to ramp quickly to offer merchants best-in-breed payment and point-of-sale solutions in time for the upcoming Liability Shift for EMV Chip and PIN slated for October 2015. HDX has developed and deployed EMV Chip and PIN enabled solutions at thousands of merchant locations throughout Europe and Canada over many years and is well prepared to scale the combined organization for the coming opportunity in the USA.

Premier has established its own BIN ("Bank Identification Number"), maintains multiple front-end authorization network agreements, holds its payment processing agreements directly with its merchants, performs its own ongoing risk monitoring and underwriting, and has the ability to transfer its merchant processing base from one back-end settlement network and Sponsor Bank to another if necessary.

Paul Howell, CEO of HDX commented, "The merger of the Premier team with HDX is a tremendous development for our company. This transaction is a key component of our strategy to provide integrated payment solutions combined with our point-of-sale solutions and enterprise management solutions to new and existing merchants throughout North America. The Premier business model, in conjunction with HDX's intellectual property and services, provides merchants with one-stop-shopping, one monthly payment, and one source for technical support of all of their retail technology solutions. The team at Premier have demonstrated exceptionally effective skills in assessing merchant risks, marketing, deploying, and supporting payment solutions while growing their business. The steady growth of Premier's payment processing revenue, profitability, and recurring residual revenue is very attractive to HDX."

Premier products provide business owners with secure, reliable and cost-effective payment solutions. Premier currently deploys its solutions to many vertical markets including traditional restaurants and retail environments.

"Our corporate philosophies towards providing quality products and excellent customer service are closely aligned and the organic growth and cross selling opportunities between our companies are powerful" says Drew Sementa, President and owner of Premier. "This transaction also provides HDX and Premier with technology and revenue that could facilitate further growth through acquisition. Combined with our existing payment solutions, being able to offer ATM's, EMV Chip and PIN pay-at-the-table, and providing integrated solutions specifically for restaurants will be excellent advantages for our team. The size and scope of the HDX service network and the features and benefits of the HDX product line will enhance our sales efforts and give us an opportunity to better serve our customer base. The larger combined company provides the extra team resources required to develop advanced technology and the ability to service customers in a wide geographic area."

In December 2013, HDX acquired payments processing company Zomaron Merchant Services ("Zomaron") of London Ontario. Since September 2013, Zomaron has grown its merchant client base by approximately 43% and the average monthly processing volume per merchant has increased from approximately $18,126 to $20,988.

The completion of any transaction as contemplated by the Letter of Intent is subject to several conditions, including the completion of all necessary legal, financial and technical due diligence reviews, the entering into a definitive agreement between the parties and receipt of all necessary consents and approvals, including board and regulatory approvals. There is no assurance that a transaction as contemplated by the Letter of Intent will be completed as proposed, or at all. The parties have agreed to negotiate a definitive agreement exclusively with each other and the transaction is expected to close on January 15^th, 2015. The TSX has in no way passed upon the merits of any transaction as contemplated by the Letter of Intent and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. 

About the Company

HDX is in the business of managing merchant transactions with consumers and facilitating payment. The company develops and deploys touch screen POS system software and associated enterprise management tools and has developed and deployed numerous POS applications. HDX also provides system hardware integration services, merchant staff training, system installation services, and post-sale software and hardware support services. 

HDX leading edge technology also includes prepaid stored value payments solutions, customer self-serve kiosks and "line buster" mobile point of sale terminals. These products have been designed to dramatically enhance customer throughput and drastically reduce customer queues. These technologies are especially effective in high foot traffic environments that have limited cash register counter space, limited retail square footage, and the absence of a drive through.

HDX develops, deploys, and supports a restaurant point-of-sale software known as "Maître 'D" which has been deployed in over 20,000 locations worldwide in eight different languages. The Company sells and services its clients directly, as well as through a network of approximately 99 value added reseller partners in 25 countries with approximately 550 reseller representatives selling, supporting & installing its software. HDX has offices in Toronto, London, Brantford, Mississauga, Seattle, Montreal, Glasgow (U.K.), Paris (France) and Singapore. 

Forward-Looking Statements 

This discussion includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and uncertainties associated with our business and the environment in which the business operates.  Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management.  The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but reflect HDX's current expectations regarding future results or events.  These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including the matters discussed under "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Annual Information Form to be filed on March 27^th 2014 with the regulatory authorities.  HDX assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. 

SOURCE: Posera-HDX

Paul K. Howell, Chief Executive Officer, Posera-HDX Ltd., 350 Bay Street, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2S6, [phone] ext. 2263