NASVILLE, TN – Verus Financial Management, Inc., a Nashville based payment processing company, and Network 1 Financial, a McLean, VA based credit card and ACH processing company, announced today that a Letter of Intent has been signed to consolidate Network 1 Financial with Verus. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the Verus and Network 1 Financial Boards of Directors. Additional terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Verus Corporation was founded by Richardson M. Roberts, the former Chairman and CEO of PMT Services, Inc. Roberts led PMT to a public offering in 1994, trading under the NASDAQ symbol PMTS, with a market capitalization in excess of $1 billion, and ultimately engineered the merger of PMT with NOVA Information Systems, Inc. in 1998. PMT successfully consolidated mid-sized payment processing companies and merchant portfolios to create one of the largest and most successful payment processing companies in the country. Verus has selected Network 1 Financial as its first acquisition because it provides the Company with a strong foundation for growth.
Roberts, Chairman & CEO of Verus commented, “I am excited about the prospect of working with Bill Wade and his team at Network 1 in launching this new venture within Verus Corporation. Once again, it appears there is a significant opportunity in the credit card industry to assemble quality companies and subsequently create real value by drawing from their respective core competencies. Network 1’s corporate culture embodies the entrepreneurial spirit, the work ethic and the integrity we are looking for as a foundation on which to build a premier organization in this industry.”
Bill Wade, CEO and founder of Network 1 Financial, explained, “We have worked for over ten years to build a Company with a broad set of payment processing products and services for physical world and on-line merchants. We are very pleased to be joining forces with Rich Roberts, one of the most successful and proven leaders in our industry. We believe there is a considerable opportunity to combine forces with other successful companies in our industry and leverage our strengths as a team to create a superior value proposition for both merchants and their processors.”
Verus is funded in large part by FTVentures San Francisco based venture capital firm that invests in companies developing technologies for the financial services industry. Richard Garman, General Partner of FTVentures, will serve as Vice Chairman of the Board of Verus. Garman was the former President and CEO of Electronic Payment Services, Inc., a privately owned electronic transaction processing company that he joined in 1995 and subsequently sold to Concord EFS, Inc. in 1999. Garman was also formerly an Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the financial services group of First Financial Management Corporation, and a Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for First Data Management Company.
Richard Garman, General Partner of FTVentures commented, “Rich Roberts is a proven leader in the payment processing industry and we are delighted to be helping Rich build a premier organization at Verus. Bill Wade and his team at Network 1 have built an outstanding company and provide a great beginning for Verus to capture the significant opportunity that exists in the industry today.”
About FTVentures
Founded in 1998, FTVentures was the first venture capital firm in the U.S. to primarily invest in technologies that benefit the financial services industry. FTVentures now has more than $623 million in total capital under management and remains the primary investment firm for technology companies that develop products and services applicable to financial services. It invests primarily in mid-to-late stage private companies with developed technologies in three key areas: software and infrastructure solutions providers, electronic commerce enablers and payment sector technologies.
FTVentures-backed companies include 7-24 Solutions, Financial Engines, Corillian, Managed Objects, Caplin Systems, Xign, e-Security, PAYTRUST, CapitalStream, E-LOAN, Synchrologic, ValuBond Securities, ValiCert, CrossLogix, and ClearCommerce. FTVentures investors are 39 of the world’s leading financial institutions and include AIG, Bank of America Corporation, BNP Paribas, Charles Schwab, Credit Suisse Group, Deutsche Bank, Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), GE Capital, HSBC Holdings, Key Principal Partners, National City Corporation, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), Standard Chartered Bank, US Bancorp and Wells Fargo.
Contacts
Kim Kellogg
PR MANAGER FTVENTURES
(415) 229-3000
info@ftventures.com
