US Raider Joins £300m Battle For Notemachine

The world's biggest cash machine owner has gatecrashed the auction of Notemachine, the British-based operator of more than 8000 ATMs.

Sky News understands that Cardtronics (NasdaqGS: CATM - news) , which is listed on the Nasdaq (NasdaqGS: NDAQ - news) stock exchange in New York, has tabled an indicative offer for Notemachine, which has a major presence across the UK and Germany.

Cardtronics' bid pits it against private equity firms including BC Partners and Centerbridge as Corsair Capital, another US-based investment firm, attempts to offload the business.

A division of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) also made an initial offer, although it is not thought to still be involved in the auction.

The involvement of Cardtronics makes it a likely frontrunner to buy Notemachine, analysts said on Wednesday.

Corsair acquired its stake in Notemachine nearly three years ago in conjunction with Peter McNamara, the company's founder, and other members of its senior management team.

Sources say that Corsair will make a handsome return from its investment in the ATM (LSE: 0LRG.L - news) operator.

The company supplies more than £5bn of cash through its network annually and says that 20 million people use one of its ATMs every month.

Mr McNamara is a former Lloyds executive, later moving to chair the listed company MoneyBox.

Notemachine also owns the UK-based independent foreign exchange provider, Eurochange, following a takeover last year.

Corsair and the other prospective buyers are earning significant sums from RBS (LSE: RBS.L - news) in the meantime through payments made as part of the deal.

Cardtronics declined to comment.