Hi Tom, My CE took a pretty good hit today. I entered this one around 12/02 and bought more this week at 12.50. Got some more cash reserve if we are going to play under 10 for very long. Should show up on VL in short order...
Concord EFS Names Isaacson as Co-CEO; Shares Plunge (Update6) By Helen Stock
Memphis, Tennessee, Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Concord EFS Inc., owner of the largest automated teller machine network, named Bond Isaacson as co-chief executive officer, bolstering its attempt to keep bank customers from switching to Visa International Inc.
The stock fell 14 percent. Isaacson, a 45-year-old former Visa USA executive, was hired in September from Bank of America Corp. and will share the top job with Dan Palmer, the company said. President Ed Labry, who was named Palmer's successor last year, will no longer take over in May.
``It kind of makes me nervous,'' said John Kraft, an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co. who has a ``neutral'' rating on the stock and doesn't own the shares. Isaacson's appointment ``might signify that it's more difficult than they thought'' to keep clients.
Concord, which operates the Star Systems Inc. ATM and debit network, has lost 66 percent of its value in 12 months amid concern Visa's Interlink network will take over agreements that expire next year with banks such as Wells Fargo & Co., Wachovia Corp., and Bank One Corp. Banks belong to a debit network so cardholders can authorize purchases with a personal identification number rather than a signature.
Shares fell $1.86 to $10.99 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange. That's the lowest since May 2000. Earlier, it dipped as low as $9.60.
`Hired Gun'
``Bond was brought in as a hired gun to sign large contracts with Concord's biggest banks,'' said Wayne Johnson, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey who has an ``equal-weight'' rating on the stock. `Investors were looking for a new perspective from Concord about what the opportunities are and the management team is responding to those requests.''
Labry, 40, will stay on as president, a post he has held since 1994, the company said. Labry and Palmer both received $1.2 million in salary and bonus and options to buy 800,000 shares of stock in 2001, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Visa, a bank-owned association, is pouring resources into its PIN-based Interlink network because a class-action lawsuit led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. threatens its dominance in signature-based debit cards, analysts said.
Wal-Mart is suing Visa and MasterCard International Inc. for the right to refuse debit transactions authorized by a signature. Such purchases cost retailers as much as 15 times more on a $100 transaction. The case goes to trial in April.
``Visa has become a very legitimate threat'' to Concord, Kraft said. ``Some of these big banks have seats on the board of Visa. Concord's trying to minimize that selling point by giving the banks some say themselves, but it's just not the same.''
New Chairman
Banks also owned star Systems until Concord bought it for $845 million in October 2000.
The company may have to pay clients a total of about $500 million in ``upfront capital payments'' to renew their contracts, according to Dris Upitis, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston. He cut his recommendation on Concord to ``neutral'' from ``outperform'' earlier this week.
The Memphis-based company also named director Richard Kiphart, 61, as chairman, replacing Palmer, 59. Kiphart has been a Concord EFS director since 1997 and is head of corporate finance at William Blair & Co. Palmer has been CEO since 1990 and chairman since 1991.
Concord said fourth-quarter net income was 17.5 cents a share. That compares with an average analyst estimate of 18 cents compiled by Thomson First Call. The company, also the fourth- largest U.S. processor of credit- and debit-card transactions, is scheduled to report full earnings on Feb. 18.
Whew! look at the volume. Guess I need to get to the fire sale!!!
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