19 December 2006
Palamon completes the take private of Retail Decisions plc

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Palamon Capital Partners, one of Europe’s leading mid market private equity firms, has completed its first “take private” with the acquisition of Retail Decisions plc (“ReD”), the payment card and fraud prevention group, for a total transaction value of around £200 million. The acquisition was implemented by way of a Court sanctioned scheme of arrangement which became effective on 18 December 2006.

ReD is a payment card and pre-paid card issuer, a world leader in transactional card fraud prevention and payment processing. A specialist supplier to the payments industry, ReD has operations in Europe, the United States, Australia and South Africa with a blue-chip international client base on six continents, taken from the telecommunications, retail, travel, petroleum, banking and the broader e-commerce sectors. Customers include Wal-Mart, Tesco, Bloomingdales, Travelocity, T-Mobile, Texaco, Shell, Woolworths and Comet. The business has a strong management team led by Carl Clump, Chief Executive Officer, who will continue in this role. ReD operates in rapidly expanding markets having high barriers to entry and is solidly cash generative.

Fabio Giuseppetti, a Partner at Palamon Capital Partners commented:

“We were particularly attracted by the growth opportunities that this business presents given the wide application of its business services and Palamon’s ability to make the business more flexible in terms of accessing capital more quickly than a listed vehicle should acquisition opportunities arise.”

Palamon Capital Partners focuses on service-orientated businesses with high growth potential. Amongst its target business sectors, it has concentrated on the card and gift certificate sectors given the increased desire by consumers for value and choice which is forcing the providers of incentives to alter how they interact with their targeted recipients thereby creating significant investment opportunities. ReD is Palamon’s third recent investment in this sector, the others being Loyalty Partner GmbH, Germany’s most successful loyalty scheme and cadooz A.G., a leading marketing services company, focusing on gift certificates in Germany.

Matthew Turner, a Partner at Palamon Capital Partners commented:

“Palamon has taken an important step with its first public-to-private transaction of a UK listed business. The Firm supports the ReD management team’s strategy for building out the business and, where appropriate, will provide strategic advice and further cash resources to expand its operations and establish a presence in new territories, both organically and through acquisitions.”

Carl Clump, Chief Executive of ReD, commented:

“ReD is a leading specialist supplier to the payments industry worldwide. We look forward to working with Palamon. They understand our space. With Palamon’s assistance we intend to strengthen our standing internationally and accelerate our ambitious plans for organic and acquisitive growth.”

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