Net1 exercises option to acquire further 35% of Bank Frick

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Oct. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: UEPS, JSE: NT1) (“Net1” or the “Company”) today announced that it has exercised its option to acquire an additional 35% interest in Bank Frick & Co. AG (“Bank Frick”), a fully licensed bank based in Balzers, Liechtenstein for approximately USD 46.4 million, subject to certain purchase price adjustments. The transaction is subject to approval from the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority and is expected to close in March 2020. Following the successful completion of the additional investment, the Company will own 70% of Bank Frick with the Kuno Frick Family Foundation owning the remaining 30% interest. Net1 has been a minority investor in Bank Frick for the past two years, and has found the breadth of the bank’s established banking services, as well as the reputation the bank has established to be impressive. Going forward, as a vertically integrated banking and payments platform combining Bank Frick’s assets and Net1’s technologies, Net1 expects to further expand its fintech, payments and blockchain services, in addition to the bank’s existing products and services. Bank Frick holds an issuing license from Visa and acquiring licenses from both Visa and MasterCard. Bank Frick has also established itself as the leading crypto and blockchain-friendly bank in Europe, under the most comprehensive and supportive regulatory framework in the region. It has also invested in and defined a number of related products and custodial arrangements, as well as pioneered corporate finance advice to the world’s leading virtual financial assets exchanges and virtual currency operators. “Bank Frick provides the cornerstone of our European strategy to deliver all-encompassing financial technology and banking services to SMEs in the region,” said Herman Kotzé, CEO of Net1. “The bank’s strong CHF 90 million Tier 1 capital, Visa and MasterCard memberships, pan-European universal banking license and recognized leadership in banking services, especially to the virtual financial assets / crypto industry will meaningfully increase the breadth, scale and speed of complementary offerings of both Net1 and Bank Frick’s fintech businesses. We are grateful to have the Frick family as co-shareholders and Dr. Mario Frick, in particular, as chairman of the board. We look forward to continue...

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