CCEA okays Hitachi's Rs 1,540 crore acquisition of Prizm Payment

Prizm is a service provider of payment services using ATMs and POS systems to banks in India

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved Japanese firm Hitachi Limited and its Indian arm to acquire Chennai-based payment services provider Prizm Payment Services Private Limited for around Rs 1,540 crore.



The Committee has approved the proposal for acquisition of 100 per cent equity stake of Prizm Payment Service by Hitachi Consulting Software Services India Private Ltd and Hitachi Ltd, Japan. The approval would result in foreign investment of approximately Rs1,540 crore in the country.

Hitachi, in November, 2013, said that it has entered into agreement with Prizm Payment's shareholders including Winvest Holdings(India) Private Limited, Sequoia Capital,Axis Bank and other minority shareholders to buy their entire equity stake. The move is expected to be to expand its business in the country's financial sector. However, the company then did not disclose the value of the deal.

Prizm Payment Services, which is registered in Chennai, is a service provider of payment services using ATMs and POS systems to banks and financial institutions in India. As on March 31, 2013, company's revenue stood at around Rs 500 crore and had about 1,100 employees.

Hitachi decided to acquire Prizm Payment with the aim of accelerating global development of IT services businesses targeting financial institutions, including ATMs where it has the top share in the Japanese market, said the company in a statement in November, 2013.

By leveraging Prizm Payment Services' customer base of major financial institutions, and know-how of payment systems, cash operations and management systems for financial institutions, and other expertise, Hitachi is expected to step up development of IT services businessin India and globally.

Both companies will utilise their respective business process integration skills to work toward a smooth process to maintain business momentum, retain personnel and continue the highest quality of customer support, it added during the time.