NCR works with some of the largest restaurant chains in the US / Photograph: Shutterstock
NCR Corp., a major supplier of restaurant POS systems as well as ATMs, will split into two companies, separating its digital commerce business from the ATM side.
The move concludes a strategic review at the Atlanta-based company that at one point included the possibility of a sale. But the board of directors said Friday it determined that dividing the company was the best way to deliver value to shareholders.
“By creating two best-in-class independent companies, we should be able to accelerate the pace of transformation by enabling each to execute its own growth strategies,” said Frank Martire, executive chairman of NCR’s board, in a statement.
He added that the current state of financial markets would have prevented the company from getting maximum value in a sale.
The company’s stock was down more than 23% Friday afternoon as investors learned a sale was off.
The separation will allow each company to simplify operations and innovate faster, NCR said. Restaurants that use its POS system can expect it to continue investing in that technology.
“The commerce company, we believe, is in the middle of a transformation to shift to next generation point-of-sale—point-of-sale-led solutions to run restaurants and do digital banking,” NCR CEO Michael Hayford said during a call with analysts Friday, according to a transcript on financial services site Sentieo.
NCR’s clients are some of the largest restaurant chains in the US, including Starbucks, Chipotle and Firehouse Subs.
The separation is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
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