Carlyle Cardinal Ireland Invests in Payzone, Provider of Consumer Payments Solutions in Ireland

Carlyle Cardinal Ireland joins management to support future growth of the business

Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI), the Irish private equity fund founded by The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) and Cardinal Capital Group, today announced that it has agreed to acquire Payzone Ireland, the largest provider of multi-channel consumer payments across the country, from Duke Street. The change in ownership will have no impact on the day-to-day business operations of Payzone in Ireland. The senior management team, including Mike Maloney, Jim Deignan and Nigel Bell, will remain in their roles and will roll over substantial equity into the new partnership.

With 11,800 points of sale across 7,000 agents, Payzone Ireland has one of the largest physical retail payments networks in Ireland.  It is estimated that 97% of all consumers in Ireland are within a quarter of a mile of a Payzone agent, providing them with a convenient way to pay for a multitude of everyday items from road tolls to energy bills to mobile phone top-ups.

Peter Garvey, Director of Carlyle said: “As well as being a prominent and reputable brand in Ireland, Payzone is a high quality business with a great management team who have helped grow and diversify the business in recent years.  CCI’s extensive experience in backing consumer and financial services businesses means that we are well-placed to work with Payzone’s leadership to continue their growth journey in the coming years.”

Jim Deignan, Managing Director Payzone Ireland, commented: “Payzone is at the forefront of developing the e-payments industry in Ireland and processes more than 1 million transactions per week in retail, online and mobile phone payments. We have worked hard to grow the business to offer many new and exciting products to the consumer across a variety of channels, including in store, online or via our apps. Our recent focus has been in the areas of transport, utilities and financial services, where consumers are increasingly using electronic payments.  We are committed to this growth path with CCI as our new partner, benefiting from their experience in working with other businesses like ours.”

Charlie Troup, Partner at Duke Street, majority shareholder in the Payzone Group, added:

"We are proud to have worked with Payzone's talented management team through the journey of restructuring the group, and growing and selling its Cashzone ATM operations while strengthening the market position of the remaining Payzone businesses and generating excellent returns for Duke Street’s investors.   This hard work has delivered an attractive business with significant further growth potential.  We see CCI as well qualified to back management for the next phase of growth."

Equity for the investment will come from CCI, a €292 million Irish private equity fund focused on growth capital and buyout investment opportunities across Ireland whose investors include the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and Enterprise Ireland. The fund has also made investments in the Kildare-based premium chocolate manufacturer Lily O’Brien’s, and General Secure Logistics Services (GSLS), an Irish cash management solutions provider.

The operations of Payzone UK and Payzone Romania, the two remaining businesses in the original Payzone Group, are unaffected by the deal.

The acquisition of Payzone Ireland by CCI is subject to approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

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Enquiries

The Carlyle Group
Laurie Mannix, MKC Communications
Tel. +353 1 703 8620 Mob: 086 8143710
laurie@mkc.ie

Payzone Ireland
Sheila Gahan, Wilson Hartnell 
Tel 01 669 0030 /087 234 2409 
sheila.gahan@ogilvy.com

Duke Street
Stephen Benzikie, IHA Consulting
Tel. +44 20 3393 1185

Carlyle Cardinal Ireland
Carlyle Cardinal Ireland is a joint venture between The Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Group.

About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $194 billion of assets under management across 128 funds and 142 fund of funds vehicles as of December 31, 2014. Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments - Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Investment Solutions - in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,650 people in 40 offices across six continents.

Web: www.carlyle.com
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About CardinalCardinal Capital Group (“Cardinal”) is a specialist investment management firm with offices in London and Dublin. Cardinal’s business activities encompass alternative investment management including hedge funds, private equity and real estate. Cardinal Asset Management Limited (UK) is registered and authorised by the Financial Services Authority as a financial advisor and maintains regulatory approval to conduct a wide range of financial services activities.   Cardinal was founded in 2003 by Nigel McDermott and Nick Corcoran.

About Payzone Ireland
Payzone Ireland is the largest consumer payments network in the country with over 7,000 retail agents which process a variety of electronic transactions services, including: mobile phone top ups; debit/credit card transactions; M50 motorway toll payments; Leap travel cards; local property tax payments; parking fees; pre-paid utility and parcel collection services. Based in Sandyford, Dublin the company employs over 70 people in Ireland. Payzone’s focus is on delivering leading edge payment services that drive greater efficiency for clients and increased revenues for its retail partners. As industry leader, Payzone's technology credentials, capabilities and expertise are a particular strength of the business.

About Duke Street
Duke Street is a leading operationally focused European mid-market buyout group, founded in 1988. It is currently investing across five key sectors: business services, financial services, consumer, healthcare and industrials/engineering. Duke Street has a proven model of value creation by successfully transforming businesses through implementing operational change and buy and build, having made nearly 60 bolt-on acquisitions for its portfolio companies.  Other Duke Street investments in the financial services arena have included Marlin and Xafinity. Duke Street has a strategic partnership with its cornerstone investor Tikehau Capital, a leading alternative asset manager with more than EUR 5 billion of assets. 

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