In an effort to extend its presence in the UK market, Giesecke & Devrient (News - Alert) recently announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Currency Tech. Presently Tech’s business is balancing G&D’s current product and service portfolio.

In a statement, Donald MacDonald, managing director, G&D Great Britain said, “G&D has longstanding and excellent expertise along the complete value chain of the cash handling and banknote business. Pursuing our growth strategy, we now have an excellent base from which to expand the business, enter into new markets and enhance our offering to existing customers. With our innovative technology we are ideally positioned to leverage Currency Tech’s potential to the fullest."

According to Cory Hayward, managing director of Currency Tech, the organization is certain that G&D is the perfect organization to provide an optimistic long-standing outlook for Currency Tech. With G&D's calculated concentration on the banknote and cash handling business, customers of Currency Tech will be serviced with a further superior portfolio of innovative products and solutions and a wider assortment of customer specific services. Currency Tech believes this acquisition will help them to develop further along with G&D.

Ralf Wintergerst is the group senior vice president and head of Banknote Processing division, G&D. According to Wintergerst, the division’s standing as a major solution provider for all facets of the cash cycle, from security architecture and high-level features to incorporated cash centre solutions, comprising of all facets of cash cycle technology in computerized payment and deposit terminals, has been strengthened with this takeover.

Wintergerst said, “In addition to growing organically, the Banknote Processing division uses M&A transactions as a strategic tool to complement the existing sales and service network and to support the extension of its portfolio.”