Stock market listing for Wire Card AG

Leading provider of Internet payment transaction services is being created - excellent growth prospects - reverse IPO - listing in the Prime Standard

(Berlin, Munich, Dec. 15, 2004) At the extraordinary shareholders' meeting of InfoGenie AG held yesterday, the shareholders approved the proposal made by the Management and Supervisory Boards to incorporate Wire Card AG in InfoGenie AG in the context of a capital increase in return for a contribution in kind. At the same time, the capital will be increased by EUR 42.1 million to EUR 52.7 million with effect from January 1, 2005. The shareholders' meeting also passed a resolution to change the company's name from InfoGenie AG to Wire Card AG. As a result, Wire Card AG will become a public limited company through a reverse IPO and will in the future be listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE0007472060).
Dr Markus Braun, CEO of the new company Wire Card AG commented: "I am delighted that our shareholders passed this resolution. They have given the go-ahead for Wire Card AG, which in its capacity as a new stock market listed company will be expanding its significant market position in the provision of Internet payment transaction services at the international level."
Key figures
The pro forma consolidated sales of the new Wire Card AG for 2004 amount to about EUR 40 million. Wire Card AG is working on the assumption that it will succeed in increasing the consolidated sales by more than 30 per cent in the 2005 financial year. The EBIT margin will probably be around 15 per cent. InfoGenie AG generated sales of about EUR 4.6 million in the 2003 financial year.
Depending on the stock market environment, Wire Card AG is planning to make a capital increase involving an injection of cash in 2005. The aim is to increase the free float to more than 25 per cent and to be admitted to the TecDax.
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Infogenie AG An den Treptowers 1, 12435 Berlin Wire Card AG Bretonischer Ring 4, 85630 Grasbrunn
Attractive products
The incorporation of Wire Card AG in InfoGenie AG is creating a new company, the strategic alignment of which is changing just as materially as the sales and earnings situation: up to now, InfoGenie AG has operated in the areas of call centre services, online marketing and Internet payment systems. These areas of operation will be maintaining their important role in the new company and will be networked with the core business of Wire Card to exploit synergy potential. InfoGenie's existing customers will be able to benefit from the services of a comprehensive provider in future. The core area of the new Wire Card AG's business is real-time payment transactions in the Internet with risk management functions.
In real-time payment systems, ordering, risk management and payment transactions are carried out simultaneously.
• Companies commission Wire Card to implement the entire payment transaction and creditworthiness review process via the Wire Card platform. The system includes risk management, which reduces the probability of payment default substantially - a service that has considerable international importance. The integration of a large number of payment solutions and currencies is another unique feature of the Wire Card platform. In addition to payment transactions via the Internet, Wire Card supports payment transactions for sales via call centres, such as TV shopping, and via conventional retail outlets.
• Click2Pay is an alternative payment solution that has been developed specially for carrying out online transactions. The new Wire Card AG will act as a service provider for end-users. Once they have been registered and validated, payments can be made to the companies involved quickly and simply over the Internet. Click2Pay represents an alternative to Internet payment by credit card or direct debiting. At the moment, Click2Pay can be used in the following countries: USA, England, Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Poland.
Growth market
Independent institutes like Forrester Research forecast annual growth of more than 25 per cent for Internet-based trading. This boom is being driven by the increasing number of Internet users and the growing willingness of Internet users to buy online. Wire Card is also benefiting from greater outsourcing of payment transactions and increasingly exacting security requirements.
With the products it provides, Wire Card AG is excellently positioned to benefit from this growth. About 2 000 companies are already using the Wire Card platform, while some 200 are taking advantage of Click2Pay. The current customers include Pro7Sat1, AuktionMaster, Betandwin.com, Flydba.com, QVC, Sony Styleshop Europe, Tiscali, HSE24.de and Yelloworld.ch.

Wire Card was supported in structuring, preparing and executing of this transaction by Munich´s Consultancy Blue Corporate Finance GmbH & Co KG (www.bluecf.com).

Important note : The assumptions made in this press release are based on entry in the commercial register of the resolutions mentioned here that were passed by the shareholders' meeting. This is being done as soon as possible.

Any statements made in this press release relating to the future that are attributable to convictions of the management reflect the views of the management about future events, which are subject to risk and uncertainties when they were made. Many different factors may lead to the actual results deviating considerably from the assessments made here. Such factors include changes in the general economic and business conditions, changes in exchange and interest rates, the introduction of rival products, higher sales incentives, inadequate acceptance of products and services and changes in the corporate strategy. We do not intend or commit ourselves to updating forward-looking statements regularly, as they are based solely on the circumstances on the day they are published.

Press Release

Press Contact:

Iris Stöckl
Director Public
Wire Card AG
Tel: +49 (0)89 4424 2034
Fax: +49 (0)89 4424 2100
iris.stoeckl@wirecard.com

Dr. Kay Baden
Relations Kirchhoff Consult AG
Tel.: +49 (0)40 609186-39
Fax: +49 (0)40 609186-71
kay.baden@kirchhoff.de