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Press Release - Heartland Payment Systems acquires controlling stake in Collective Point of Sale SolutionsStrategic acquisition gives Heartland access to Canadian merchants and offers Collective P.O.S. expanded industry expertise and platform for growth.Toronto, ON - March 4, 2008 Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE: HPY), a leading provider of credit/debit/prepaid card processing, payroll and payment services, today announced it has acquired a majority interest in Collective Point of Sale Solutions Ltd. (Collective P.O.S.). Collective P.O.S. is a major Canadian provider of payment processing services and secure point-of-sale solutions. Under the agreement, Heartland will maintain the Collective P.O.S. brand in Canada. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This agreement will mark Heartland’s entry into the Canadian credit and debit card processing market. Heartland will add Collective P.O.S.’ 5,000+ Canadian customers – processing in excess of $1 billion annually – to its growing portfolio of small and mid-sized businesses. Additionally, Heartland and CollectivePOS are now able to service merchants that are dually located in the United States and Canada. “Collective P.O.S. gives Heartland a presence in the Canadian market with a recognized, rapidly growing payments processor,” said Bob Carr, chairman and chief executive officer of Heartland. “Collective P.O.S. shares our business philosophy and our focus on providing secure payments processing to small and mid-sized businesses. Both Heartland and Collective P.O.S. are excited to jointly service merchants with locations in both the U.S. and Canada.” Collective P.O.S.’ management team, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Back, will maintain its leadership of the company, and its customers’ payments transactions will continue to be processed and serviced by the company. As such, operations will continue seamlessly, and Collective P.O.S. merchants will not need a system conversion. “Heartland’s stake in Collective P.O.S. will provide us with accelerated growth opportunities in the Canadian market,” said Back. “Not only will Collective P.O.S. benefit from Heartland’s considerable expertise and experience in processing and payment solutions, we also gain access to a management team that has successfully built Heartland from the ground up into a leader in the U.S. payment processing industry.” About Heartland Payment Systems Heartland is the founding supporter of The Merchant Bill of Rights, a public advocacy initiative that educates merchants about fair credit and debit card processing practices. # # # - 30 - # # # About Collective Point of Sale Solutions Ltd.: Collective P.O.S. serves more than 10,000 businesses across Canada, including retail stores, restaurants, hospitality providers, mobile services, e-commerce merchants, mail order/telephone order businesses, professional firms/clinics/practitioners, B2B product/service providers, tradespeople and many other industries. For press release inquiries, please contact us at: |
