Heartland Payment Systems (HPY) stockholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the proposed merger with Global Payments (GPN). About 29.7 million shares were voted in favor of the merger proposal. The favorable vote represents approximately 99% of the total Heartland shares which voted on the merger proposal and 80% of the total outstanding Heartland share count. The…
Atlanta-based Global Payments has inked a definitive agreement to acquire NJ-based Heartland Payment Systems.
The cash-and-stock transaction is valued around $4.3 billion.
Heartland Payment Systems announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire TouchNet Information Systems, Inc., an integrated commerce solutions provider to higher-education institutions. TouchNet adds over 600 higher education clients serving over six million students – nearly one-third of the higher-education enrollment in the United States – to Heartland’s Campus Solutions business. Heartland Payment Systems, Inc., the fifth largest payments processor in the United States, delivers credit/debit/prepaid card processing, mobile commerce, e-commerce, marketing solutions, security technology, payroll solutions, and related business solutions and services to more than 275,000 business and educational locations nationwide.
Heartland Payment announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new $75 million share repurchase program. Repurchases will be made in accordance with applicable securities laws in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The new authorization is a result of the completion of an existing program, which went into effect effective on November 6, 2012, under which the company repurchased 1,667,983 shares of its common stock at an average price of $29.98 per share.
Heartland Campus Solutions ECSI, a division of Heartland Payment Systems and a leading provider of solutions for over 2,000 colleges and universities, commented today on the February 2014 U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report: “COLLEGE DEBIT CARDS: Actions Needed to Address ATM Access, Student Choice, and Transparency.” College debit and prepaid cards allow students to receive tuition refunds from federal student aid and other payments on a card. According to the GAO Report, while college cards can be convenient for students and offer cost savings and efficiencies for schools, concerns exist when it comes to fees, ATM access and neutrality. Among other findings, the GAO reports that some college debit and prepaid card providers charge fees for debit card usage, make it difficult for students to transfer funds to their own bank account, and that some schools receive payments from card providers based on the number of card accounts opened, leading to a call for increased transparency.
Heartland Payment will be the first processor to distribute American Express Merchant Financing, giving small businesses access to highly price-competitive alternative financing solutions and be able to obtain loans based on their annual card processing volume. American Express’ Merchant Financing is designed to provide immediate capital to finance short-term investments and be paid back over a 12-month period, thus avoiding long-term debt commitments. In contrast to traditional commercial lending vehicles, Merchant Financing provides convenient access to capital up to $750,000″enabling even more small business owners to finance their growth needs, stay competitive and enhance their businesses.
Bob Carr, Heartland Payment Systems CEO, has been named the 2013 Innovator of the Year by the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce. Carr will be formally recognized at the Annual Business Leader Awards presentation and gala at the Tournament Players Club Jasna Polana on December 4, 2013. Carr was the driving force in helping Princeton merchants launch the OnePrinceton program last month. OnePrinceton is a secure payments system that allows merchants to easily donate one percent of each OnePrinceton purchase to the buyer’s participating nonprofit organization in the Princeton area when shopping at merchants that participate in the program. Consumers can participate in the OnePrinceton program by directly linking their checking or savings account through either a OnePrinceton card or a smartphone QR code, both of which require PINs for added security.
I2C cloud-based payment processing is providing Heartland Payment Systems prepaid card processing services. The companies’ first collaboration is the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) Edge prepaid card program, which runs on the Discover® network. The Edge card allows restaurant employees to deposit their paychecks, load funds, receive employer-sponsored incentives and earn cash rewards on a general purpose prepaid card. i2c’s prepaid card payment processing platform will serve as the system of record for Edge accounts and enable the introduction of new card features such as card-linked offers and real-time mobile alerts.
Heartland Payment Systems has delivered more than $262,000,000 in signature debit savings to its merchant customers throughout the United States. Restaurant merchants received more than $75,000,000, lodging merchants received nearly $10,000,000, retail merchants received almost $30,000,000 and petroleum/c-store merchants received more than $55,000,000. The Durbin Amendment, part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, caps debit card interchange rates for issuing banks with more than $10 billion in assets at 21 cents per transaction, plus one cent for issuers with an effective fraud prevention system, and 0.05% of the volume of transaction.
Heartland Payment Systems payments processor was ranked #112, an increase of 83 spots, in the 2012 InformationWeek 500. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Heartland has made the list for its innovation in payments and information technology. Heartland was honored for atlas, its homegrown sales enablement/hybrid CRM application that streamlines and enhances the sales process. A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform built for all major web browsers and tablets, especially the iPad®, atlas delivers a simplified and improved customer buying experience with on-demand proposal generation, automated underwriting and increased customer security through encrypting all personal identifiable information at the point of collection. Heartland completed the project from inception to delivery in only 12 months, all through internal resources that allowed cross-matrix business owner requirements to be quickly synthesized for accurate feature delivery.
Heartland Payment Systems payments processor will be hosting an Investor Day on October 8 at the New York Stock Exchange. Scheduled speakers include Robert Carr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Robert Baldwin, Vice Chairman; Maria Rueda, Chief Financial Officer; Michael Lawler, President – Strategic Markets; David Gilbert, President – Hospitality; and Ian Drysdale, President – Network Solutions.
Heartland Payment Systems acquired LunchByte Systems school foodservice back office management and POS, led by its NUTRIKIDS solution of menu management, inventory management and POS solutions for K-12 administrators, staff, parents and students. Following the 2011 acquisitions of four other providers in the K-12 space, the LunchByte Systems acquisition further expands Heartland School Solutions’ market-leading position in the K-12 school nutrition and POS technology industry. Heartland School Solutions now serves more than 29,000 K-12 schools across the United States, representing a nearly 30 percent market share.