VeriFone Pays $13 Million Plus for GO Software to Expand POS Market

Leading point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Inc. has announced it is buying GO Software from Return On Investment Corp. for $13 million in a deal expected to close next month. With the acquisition, San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone expands its presence in the market made up of so-called integrated point-of-sale devices, such as card-payment devices built into gas pumps. Savannah, Ga.-based GO Software specializes in the integrated POS market, producing payment-processing systems based on Windows, Linux, and other platforms. Its products also support Internet Protocol connectivity, which is becoming increasingly popular with processors and merchants because of its ability to trim transaction speeds. The company's software currently handles card transactions for some 150,000 businesses. “The acquisition of GO Software is part of VeriFone's strategy to expand its payment systems footprint into other integrated point-of-sale environments,” said Douglas G. Bergeron, chairman and chief executive of San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone, in a statement. “We are committed to growing and enhancing the GO Software product lines for our joint community of customers and prospects.” The acquisition is subject to the approval of ROI's shareholders. In addition to the immediate purchase price, VeriFone will pay up to $2 million contingent on GO Software's performance through June, 2006.