(Reuters) - German ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf WING.DE has asked investment banks to come up with ideas to secure the future of the group, including a potential sale to a private equity group, two people familiar with the matter said.
The rise of online banking and e-commerce poses a structural challenge to Wincor, which has been struggling with low capital expenditures of banks eager to keep costs in check while emerging from the financial crisis.
"A P2P (public to private transaction) is one of the options, the acquisition of a peer by Wincor is another one", one of the people said.
No advisor has yet been officially mandated and the company may still decide against any move, the sources added.
Wincor Nixdorf, which has a market capitalisation of 1.44 billion euros ($1.57 billion), declined to comment.
Wincor specialises in banking systems like Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), accounting for roughly two thirds of its annual sales, and payment systems for retailers such as so-called Points of Sale (POS), which account for the rest.
The company has already vowed to make acquisitions, to increase investments in emerging markets and to boost the software business in its core European market, which accounts for 70 percent of its sales.
"The main question is: will small steps be enough to secure the future of the company or will it likely fare better with a bold move," one of the sources said.
Wincor's shares, which are widely held, have lost 15 percent over the past year, reflecting the company's sluggish financial performance. The German midcap index .MDAXI has gained 29 percent over the same period.
The shares traded almost 15 percent higher at 1240 GMT on Wednesday.
In the first quarter of its fiscal year ending September, the Paderborn-based company reported flat sales of 640 million euros and a 12 percent decline in earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation to 37 million euros. (Full Story)
Founded by Heinz Nixdorf in 1952, the company was taken over by Siemens SIEGn.DE in 1990 before being acquired by buyout groups KKR KKR.N and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners GS.N in 1999. It was listed on the stock exchange in 2004 and the private equity groups have since sold their entire holdings.
Goldman Sachs co-chairman Alexander Dibelius acts as chairman of Wincor Nixdorf's supervisory board.
Wincor competes with the likes of U.S.-based NCR Corp NCR.N or Japan's Oki Electric 6703.T, although these groups may not be potential takeover targets, one of the sources said.
"If Wincor opts for an acquisition, I would suspect they would buy a company in emerging markets as that's where ATM numbers are still on the rise," one of the sources said.