Hewlett-Packard Company has signed a definitive agreement to sell its payments subsidiary VeriFone to Los Angeles-based acquisition and managment firm Gores Technology Group (GTG). Financial details of the all-cash transaction have not been disclosed.
HP bought Santa Clara-based VeriFone in 1997 in a stock transaction valued at $1.2 billion, but has struggled to develop the business. John Brennan, HP vice president, strategy and corporate development, says the disposal of VeriFone will allow HP to "sharpen its focus" on core competencies in service-centric computing and providing solutions for an always-on Internet infrastructure.
VeriFone's new owner, GTG specialises in turning around underperforming high-tech organisations. To date, the company has acquired approximately 35 companies with aggregated annual revenues of over $2 billion.
Pierre-Francois Catte, general manager of VeriFone, emphasises that the parties are working to ensure that the acquisition by GTG will not result in any disruptions of service, product shipments, or changes in the business relationships with VeriFone's partners and customers. He also emphasises that VeriFone plans to keep all of its existing employees in its current ongoing operations.