Diebold Makes $1.8B Acquisition Play For Competitor Wincor Nixdorf

U.S. ATM maker Diebold has announced that rival firm Wincor Nixdorf has agreed on a takeover, with Diebold offering up $1.8 billion in cash and shares for its German counterpart. If the deal is approved by regulatory authorities in both nations, it would create the world’s largest industry player by capacity, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The offer will be officially tendered in early 2016 and will clock in at 80 percent cash and 20 percent shares, with Wincor’s shares valued at ~$57.60 a share.

Shares in Wincor Nixdorf are trading up 5 percent in Frankfurt today, extending last Friday’s (Nov. 20) gains. Diebold’s shares were also up by 4 percent.

The largest ATM maker in the world NCR has around 790,000 cash dispensers worldwide, according to its website. The company recorded $6.6 billion in revenues last year.

To make the deal actually happen, Diebold will need to secure 67 percent of Wincor shares with its tender offer. Wincor currently holds 10 percent of its own shares; if Diebold can pick up another 67 percent, it will own more than 75 percent of the firm. That 75 percent is something of a magic figure in this deal, as it is the critical threshold under German law that allows the acquiring firm the type of full control it is generally looking for.

Should the deal be completed, the combined company would be renamed Diebold Nixdorf, the world’s largest ATM maker with around 1 million installed ATMs and combined annual revenues of $5.2 billion.

The deal would also increase Diebold’s European footprint, since, so far, the firm has only really pursued the North American market.

“There is a great geographical fit, and the price for Wincor is quite attractive,” said analysts from DZ Bank last month.