Electronic Clearing House Soars on Deal

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Shares in payment processing provider Electronic Clearing House Inc. more than doubled Thursday morning after Intuit Inc. agreed to buy the Camarillo-based company for about $131 million in stock.


The Mountain View-based financial management software maker said late Wednesday that it plans to pay $17 for each of the company’s shares, sending the stock soaring 110 percent from Wednesday’s closing price of $7.90.


This is the second time Intuit tried to buy Electronic Clearing House. The two companies walked away from a deal about a year ago because of a probe into the payment processing service provider’s ties to online gaming, which resulted in a $2.3 million fine.


The original agreement had Intuit paying $142 million, which valued shares of Electronic Clearing House at $18.75. Intuit said since the prior deal was canceled, Electronic Clearing House has “refocused its business and addressed governmental concerns while continuing to generate revenue growth.”


The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter and Intuit said that it expects the purchase to slightly decrease its earnings in fiscal 2008 and 2009. Electronic Clearing House will become a subsidiary of Intuit.


Shares in Electronic Clearing House were up $8.74 to $16.64 in early trading Thursday on the Nasdaq.

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