ITPS Acquires Independent Sales Channel of NPC

GTCR-Financed Company Announces Significant Transaction with BA Merchant Services

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 15 (www.AllPayNews.com) -- Iron Triangle Payment Systems ("ITPS") and GTCR, one of the nation's leading private equity investment firms, are pleased to announce the acquisition of the Independent Sales Organization ("ISO") merchant processing businesses of BA Merchant Services. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Based upon the number of merchant locations served, the consolidated business operations resulting from the acquisition will rank as the sixth largest provider of merchant processing services in the United States, supporting over 260,000 merchant locations.
The transaction involves a talented team of industry veterans led by Randy Sagar, senior vice president of Indirect Sales at BA Merchant Services. Under Sagar's leadership, the ISO merchant processing business of BA Merchant Services, which is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, has grown to over 140,000 merchant locations served, all of which are included as part of the sale.
Also included in the transaction is the National Processing Company ("NPC") brand name, one of the oldest and most respected brands in the payments industry. In addition, Best Payment Solution, Inc. ("BPS"), which operates as a separate wholly-owned subsidiary of BA Merchant Services, is included as part of the transaction. BPS provides services to an additional 20,000 merchant locations and operates out of its principle offices in Chicago, IL and Tampa, FL.
ITPS conducts its operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Retriever Payment Systems ("Retriever"), a leading merchant processor in the small and medium business market. ITPS was founded in 2003 by Thomas A. Wimsett, former CEO of NPC, in partnership with GTCR as an acquisition vehicle to build a leading payments processing business. Wimsett currently serves as president and CEO of ITPS and Retriever.
The combined businesses will continue to focus on providing outstanding support and services to merchants and leading independent sales organizations. These services include transaction-processing support for all major credit cards, debit cards, government benefit programs (EBT), check conversion and gift cards.
In addition, the combined businesses will support over 700 independent sales offices and more than 650 community and regional banks, creating one of the leading merchant acquirers focused on marketing to ISOs.
"My team and I are extremely excited to join Tom Wimsett and his senior team, and together we look forward to providing continued outstanding service to our merchant customers and distribution partners," said Sagar. "I worked with Tom and many of his colleagues for years at NPC, where together we built a leading player in the merchant processing industry. By drawing on the advanced technologies and strong service infrastructure at Retriever, I believe we can offer even greater service levels to our merchants and ISOs."
Wimsett, who is a long-term veteran of the payments industry, spent nineteen years working at NPC, including serving as its president and CEO from 1999 through 2002. During Wimsett's tenure as CEO, NPC, which was a NYSE publicly traded company at the time, experienced tremendous growth and success, with its market value increasing by more than $1 billion. Commenting on the transaction Wimsett stated, "We are thrilled about this acquisition and we're looking forward to working once again with Randy Sagar, his talented team and all of the sales organizations of NPC and BPS."
Collin Roche, Principal of GTCR, commented, "At GTCR, we focus on partnering with exceptional senior executives such as Tom and his team to develop industry leading businesses through acquisitions and internal growth. From time to time, we have been able to assist executives in acquiring businesses they had previously built and managed. With the long history that Tom and his team have at NPC, and in combination with the outstanding Retriever business, we believe the combined companies are well positioned for continued success."
"Through this transaction, we are combining two of the most prestigious brands in the payments space: NPC, which was officially founded in 1979, and Retriever, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year," added Wimsett. "With the support of GTCR, we have clearly established ourselves as one of the nation's leading providers of payment processing services. We look forward to continued growth in the business, and to many more years of outstanding service to our customers and partners."

About ITPS-Retriever
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Iron Triangle Payment Systems, LLC was formed in 2003 by Tom Wimsett and other senior managers to pursue growth and acquisition opportunities in the transaction processing and payment services industry. In January, 2005, ITPS acquired Retriever Payment Systems, a leading provider of payment processing services to small and medium sized merchants. Retriever provides its sales groups with unparalleled focus and support through industry-leading talent and technologies. For more information, visit http://www.retrieveronline.com .

About GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC
Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity investment firm and long-term strategic partner for outstanding management teams. The Chicago-based firm pioneered the investment strategy of identifying and partnering with exceptional executives to acquire and build companies through a combination of acquisitions and strong internal growth. GTCR currently manages more than $8 billion of equity capital invested in a wide range of companies and industries. More information about GTCR can be found at http://www.gtcr.com .

About BA Merchant Services
BA Merchant Services is part of Bank of America and is responsible for providing card processing services to more than one million merchant locations. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, BA Merchant Services has been a leader in the industry for more than 30 years. One out of every five Visa and MasterCard transactions in the U.S. is processed by BA Merchant Services.

SOURCE Iron Triangle Payment Systems
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