EVO Payments International Partners with Madison Dearborn Partners to Fund Company's International Expansion

MELVILLE, N.Y. and CHICAGO, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- EVO Payments International announced today that it has partnered with Madison Dearborn Partners to fund the company's international expansion and additional growth initiatives.  EVO is a leading privately-held payments processor and acquirer for merchants, independent sales organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government organizations, and multinational corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.  EVO currently services approximately 275,000 merchant customer businesses of all sizes, in various industries, focusing on small- to mid-sized merchants.  EVO's annual processing volume totaled more than $30 billion in 2012.

EVO's management team, led by Founder and Chairman Ray Sidhom, will continue to own a majority of the company.  In addition to its funding commitment, Madison Dearborn has purchased a minority ownership position in EVO, effective as of the end of December 2012.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Madison Dearborn is the ideal partner for us at this stage of our development," said Mr. Sidhom.  "Their resources and financial services expertise will assist us as we move forward with our expansion strategy.  Our goal across the enterprise is to become a truly global leader in the payment transaction sector and our partnership with Madison Dearborn is a significant step in that direction."

"Payment processing is a dynamic industry, with new growth opportunities emerging worldwide each and every day," said James G. Kelly, EVO's Chief Executive Officer.  "We are making significant progress in our work to create the leading, full-service player in this growing industry, and Madison Dearborn's involvement will be a tremendous benefit to us, our employees and our valued merchant customers."

"We are very impressed with the Madison Dearborn team and we're looking forward to working with them to capture the numerous growth opportunities before us," said Jeff Rosenblatt, EVO's President.  "There is a lot of momentum behind our business and we are excited about our future."

Domestically, EVO recently announced the acquisition of PowerPay, a US-based provider of integrated E-Commerce and point-of-sale (POS) payment processing solutions. 

Internationally, EVO recently announced an agreement to purchase Deutsche Card Services, a provider of merchant acquiring services that is active in 39 European markets, from Deutsche Bank.  Additionally, EVO announced an agreement to establish a joint venture with Banco Popular to provide merchant acquiring services in the Spanish market. 

Madison Dearborn's growth equity commitment applies to possible acquisitions and other expansion initiatives that EVO might pursue in the future.

"EVO has a scalable business model supported by industry leading end-to-end technology that we think positions the company for sustained growth moving forward," said Vahe Dombalagian, a Managing Director at Madison Dearborn.  "This is a unique and attractive opportunity to partner with proven payment processing executives to pursue a services and international expansion strategy.  As a result, we are very pleased to make this investment and commit our support to EVO's future growth."

William Blair & Co. served as EVO's financial advisor and Alston & Bird LLP provided EVO with legal counsel.  Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided Madison Dearborn with legal counsel.

About EVO Payments International

EVO Payments International is a leading privately-held payments processor and acquirer for merchants, independent sales organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government organizations, and multinational corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.  EVO offers an industry-leading array of secure, innovative products and solutions that support the growth of its highly valued customers and their businesses.  Visit www.goevo.com for more information about the company and its services.

About Madison Dearborn Partners

Madison Dearborn Partners, based in Chicago, is one of the most experienced and successful private equity investment firms in the United States.  Since Madison Dearborn's formation in 1992, the firm has raised six funds with aggregate capital of over $18 billion and has completed approximately 125 investments.  Madison Dearborn invests in businesses across a broad spectrum of industries, including financial services; basic industries; business and government services; consumer; health care; and telecom, media and technology services.  Its noteworthy investments include CapitalSource, Nuveen Investments, PayPal, and TransUnion.  For more information, please visit www.mdcp.com.

SOURCE EVO Payments International