Justice Department: Close To Settlement On VeriFone-Hypercom Deal

The Justice Department believes it can reach a settlement this month to resolve its antitrust lawsuit that seeks to block VeriFone Systems Inc.'s (PAY) proposed $485 million acquisition of Hypercom Corp. (HYC), the agency said in a court filing Monday.

The department asked a Washington federal judge to stay all court proceedings until September, saying the parties have engaged in "extensive settlement discussions" and believe they can reach a deal by Aug. 30.

The department sued to block the merger in May, arguing that the deal would harm competition in the market for payment terminals used by retailers to accept credit and debit cards.

The two companies control more than 60% of the U.S. market for point-of-sale terminals used by the largest retailers, the department said.

The companies originally sought to address potential antitrust concerns by agreeing to sell Hypercom's U.S. business to Ingenico SA (ING.FR), the largest worldwide provider of such terminals. The Justice Department, however, said in May that the proposed fix was inadequate, noting that Ingenico was the only other significant competitor to VeriFone and Hypercom in the U.S. market.

In Monday's court filing, the department said the parties "believe that a settlement can be reached whereby an alternative buyer acceptable to the United States will take control of Hypercom's U.S. business."

The federal judge overseeing the case granted the government's request to stay court proceedings until next month.

-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; [e-mail]