Verus Completes Purchase of Network 1 Financial
Monday, July 15, 2002
NASVILLE, TN - Verus Financial Management, Inc., a Nashville based payment processing company, and Network 1 Financial, a McLean, Va based credit card and ACH (Automated Clearing House) processing company, announced today that they have gained unanimous approval from their shareholders and completed their merger. Network 1 Financial becomes the first company to join the Verus campaign to consolidate payment processing companies to create a leading payment processing firm.
Verus was founded by Richardson M. Roberts, the former chairman and CEO of PMT Services, Inc. Roberts led PMT to a public offering in 1994 and ultimately engineered the merger of PMT with NOVA Information Systems, Inc. in 1998. PMT successfully consolidated the small and mid-sized merchant marketplace to create one of the largest and most successful payment processing companies in the country.
Verus 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 to get this first transaction under our belt and begin the hard work to further drive value and grow our enterprise. Network 1 has as its cornerstone an organization of great people and I look forward to working with them and building a premier company from which we can launch our growth strategies."
Bill Wade, CEO and founder of Network 1 Financial, explained, "We worked for over ten years, building a company with a broad set of payment processing products and services for physical world and on-line merchants. We are very pleased to join 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 Financial Technology Ventures ("FTVentures"), a San Francisco based venture capital firm that invests in companies developing technologies that benefit the global financial services industry. Richard Garman, managing member 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. In addition, Jim Hale, senior managing member at FTVentures will also join the Verus board.
Richard Garman commented, "Rich Roberts is a proven leader in the payment processing industry and we are delighted to be helping Rich build another 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 payments 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.
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