Mar 22, 2017

04 Aug, 2004, 01:00 ET from Lynk Systems, Inc. ATLANTA, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Lynk Systems, Inc. ("Lynk") announced today that it has reached an agreement to be acquired by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ("RBS"), one of the largest financial institutions in the world, for total consideration of $525 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2004, subject to customary regulatory review. With the acquisition of Lynk, RBS will be the third-largest acquirer of merchants in the world. Having no US presence, Lynk will provide RBS a strong foothold in the US merchant acquiring marketplace. Lynk's highly regarded employees, technology and transaction processing platform is considered very scalable and capable of supporting RBS's acquiring ambitions within the US. Additionally, RBS ownership of Citizens Bank, soon to be the 6th largest bank in the US, will provide Lynk access to a significant captured customer base. "We are delighted to become part of such a highly regarded, world-class company as The Royal Bank of Scotland," said Edward R. Uzialko, Lynk's Founder and CEO. "The Lynk management team and I are enthusiastic about the future growth prospects and the potential to leverage the strengths of the RBS Group, enabling Lynk to become a powerful force in the US marketplace." Financial Technology Partners and FTP Securities ( http://www.ftpartners.com ) served as the strategic and financial advisor to Lynk in this transaction. Atlanta-based Arnall Golden & Gregory ( http://www.agg.com ) served as Lynk's legal advisor. About Lynk Systems, Inc. Privately held, Lynk is equally owned by its employees and a group of four venture capital investors. Lynk, based in Atlanta, employs 550 at its headquarters and has a national network of 400 sales employees. It is an integrated full service provider of credit and debit card processing services. It utilizes proprietary in-house technology providing control of costs, scalability and a superior quality of service to its customers. Servicing approximately 100,000 merchants, it processes 18 billion in charge volume and 400 million transactions annually; Lynk is considered the 6th-largest non-bank acquirer and the 9th-largest merchant acquirer in the US market. In addition, Lynk provides processing services for 25,000 ATM's located throughout the US representing 6 billion dollars dispensed and 120 million transactions annually, making Lynk the 3rd largest processor of ATM's in the US. Founded in 1991, Lynk has received numerous industry quality service awards, and continually earns recognition as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America. For more information, please visit Lynk's Website at http://www.lynksystems.com . About Royal Bank of Scotland Group, plc The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc is one of the world's largest banking and financial services groups, with a market capitalization of 49 billion pounds Sterling at the end of 2003. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates in the UK and internationally through its two principal subsidiaries, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc ("the Royal Bank"), and National Westminster Bank Plc ("NatWest"). Both the Royal Bank and NatWest are major UK clearing banks whose origins go back over 275 years. The Royal Bank of Scotland's domestic interests include Citizens Bank, one of the 10 largest commercial holding banks in the United States. The Group has a large and diversified customer base and provides a wide range of products and services to personal, commercial and large corporate and institutional customers. For further information, visit http://www.rbs.co.uk . SOURCE Lynk Systems, Inc. ATLANTA, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Lynk Systems, Inc. ("Lynk") announced today that it has reached an agreement to be acquired by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ("RBS"), one of the largest financial institutions in the world, for total consideration of $525 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2004, subject to customary regulatory review. With the acquisition of Lynk, RBS will be the third-largest acquirer of merchants in the world. Having no US presence, Lynk will provide RBS a strong foothold in the US merchant acquiring marketplace. Lynk's highly regarded employees, technology and transaction processing platform is considered very scalable and capable of supporting RBS's acquiring ambitions within the US. Additionally, RBS ownership of Citizens Bank, soon to be the 6th largest bank in the US, will provide Lynk access to a significant captured customer base. "We are delighted to become part of such a highly regarded, world-class company as The Royal Bank of Scotland," said Edward R. Uzialko, Lynk's Founder and CEO. "The Lynk management team and I are enthusiastic about the future growth prospects and the potential to leverage the strengths of the RBS Group, enabling Lynk to become a powerful force in the US marketplace." Financial Technology Partners and FTP Securities ( http://www.ftpartners.com ) served as the strategic and financial advisor to Lynk in this transaction. Atlanta-based Arnall Golden & Gregory ( http://www.agg.com ) served as Lynk's legal advisor. About Lynk Systems, Inc. Privately held, Lynk is equally owned by its employees and a group of four venture capital investors. Lynk, based in Atlanta, employs 550 at its headquarters and has a national network of 400 sales employees. It is an integrated full service provider of credit and debit card processing services. It utilizes proprietary in-house technology providing control of costs, scalability and a superior quality of service to its customers. Servicing approximately 100,000 merchants, it processes 18 billion in charge volume and 400 million transactions annually; Lynk is considered the 6th-largest non-bank acquirer and the 9th-largest merchant acquirer in the US market. In addition, Lynk provides processing services for 25,000 ATM's located throughout the US representing 6 billion dollars dispensed and 120 million transactions annually, making Lynk the 3rd largest processor of ATM's in the US. Founded in 1991, Lynk has received numerous industry quality service awards, and continually earns recognition as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America. For more information, please visit Lynk's Website at http://www.lynksystems.com . About Royal Bank of Scotland Group, plc The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc is one of the world's largest banking and financial services groups, with a market capitalization of 49 billion pounds Sterling at the end of 2003. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates in the UK and internationally through its two principal subsidiaries, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc ("the Royal Bank"), and National Westminster Bank Plc ("NatWest"). Both the Royal Bank and NatWest are major UK clearing banks whose origins go back over 275 years. The Royal Bank of Scotland's domestic interests include Citizens Bank, one of the 10 largest commercial holding banks in the United States. The Group has a large and diversified customer base and provides a wide range of products and services to personal, commercial and large corporate and institutional customers. For further information, visit http://www.rbs.co.uk . SOURCE Lynk Systems, Inc.