Euronet Expands ATM Fleet in Romania - Analyst Blog

In a bid to consolidate its operations in Romania, Euronet Worldwide Inc.'s EEFT subsidiary – Euronet Services SRL announced the acquisition of 200 ATMs from Banca Comerciala Carpatica for an undisclosed amount. With the completion of this acquisition, the company will have 400 ATMs across Romania, doubling its ATM count in the region.

Additionally, Comerciala Carpatica entered into an agreement for participating in the shared ATM network of Euronet and also signed a contract for point of sale (POS) acquiring and card issuing services.

Euronet's sturdy financial position including its strong cash balance will help it fund the transaction.

The company has independent networks in 13 countries and operates as the largest pan-European independent ATM deployer (IAD). Moreover, armed with 20 years of transaction processing experience, diversified market and extensive infrastructure, the company offers leading ATM asset purchase value proposition to banks.

Including Comerciala Carpatica, five banks have now participated in Euronet's shared ATM network. These are located across all 41 counties in Romania. Following the acquisition, Euronet will be co-branded with all the acquired in-branch ATMs of Comerciala Carpatica, while the off-branch acquired ATMs will be rebranded to Euronet.

Customers in Romania will benefit from the transaction as they will get access to a larger network with no extra cost involved. Besides expanding its network, the acquisition will also enhance the service quality of Euronet. This in turn will help it capture greater market share in the future as well as enhance its inorganic growth profile.

Previously, in an attempt to fortify its foothold in U.K, Euronet inked a deal to acquire HiFX in March 2014. HiFX is an online initiated international payments and foreign exchange services provider.

Zacks Rank

Euronet presently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).  Some other top-ranked stocks in the same space are Apollo Residential Mortgage, Inc. AMTG, Cielo SA (CIOXY) and FleetCor Technologies, Inc. FLT. While Apollo Residential sports a Zacks Rank #1, Cielo SA and FleetCor Technologies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).