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Diebold Sells U.S. Elections Systems Business to ES&S
NORTH CANTON, Ohio, September 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Diebold, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) announced today that it has sold its U.S. election systems business, primarily consisting of its Allen, Texas-based subsidiary, Premier Election Solutions, Inc., to Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), a leading company in the election systems industry. The sale was consummated on September 2. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080725/DIEBOLDLOGO) Diebold has agreed to sell its elections systems business for US$5 million in cash plus future cash payments representing 70% of any cash collected on the outstanding U.S. election systems business accounts receivable as of August 31, 2009. As a result of this transaction, Diebold expects to recognize a pre-tax loss in the range of US$45 million to US$55 million. The pre-tax loss includes the assets and liabilities of the business, certain retained legal liabilities, and other transaction costs. This business will be reported as a discontinued operation. Excluding the impact of this divestiture, Diebold's full-year earnings per share outlook for 2009 remains unchanged. Diebold entered the U.S. election systems business after purchasing Global Election Systems, Inc., in January 2002. Since early 2006, Diebold has identified its U.S. elections systems business as non-core to its operations and has been pursuing strategic alternatives to ownership, including divestiture. In August 2007, Diebold announced it had realigned its U.S. elections systems subsidiary to operate as an independent entity and renamed the company, Premier Election Solutions. Since that time, Diebold has maintained only a financial interest in Premier with no direct operational involvement. In 2008, Premier generated US$88.2 million in revenue, or 2.8 percent of Diebold's total reported revenue for the year. The company's Brazilian subsidiary, which manufactures voting terminals for Brazil's national elections board, the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), is not affected by the sale of Premier Election Solutions. Diebold, Incorporated is a global leader in providing integrated self-service delivery and security systems and services. Diebold employs more than 17,000 associates with representation in nearly 90 countries worldwide and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio, USA. Diebold is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'DBD.' For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.diebold.com, or visit www.diebold.com/150 to learn more about Diebold's 150-year history.
