Coinstar Inc. Forms International Subsidiary
June 11, 1998 07:01 AM
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1998--Coinstar Inc. CSTR today announced the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary to
pursue international opportunities in self-service coin counting.
The new subsidiary, Coinstar International Inc., will focus on developing new Coinstar business outside the United States. Coinstar currently
owns and operates more than 3,900 self-service coin counting machines in 31 U.S. states.
"American consumers are not at all alone when it comes to the difficulty they have in turning their coins into cash," said Jens Molbak,
chairman and CEO of Coinstar Inc. "In fact, many countries share the problem of having too many coins sitting idle and out of circulation. With
our new international subsidiary, we'll be looking for the best global opportunities to apply our easy-to-use coin recycling technology."
The company's recent development of its new proprietary coin counting mechanism will enable Coinstar to more easily adapt its machines to
foreign markets. The mechanism can be calibrated to count the coins of a wide array of countries with differing denominations of coins.
"Western Europe is a particularly exciting market," continued Molbak. "The European Monetary Union will require that participating
governments exchange approximately 76 billion existing coins for Euros by the summer of 2002. Coinstar International will be looking at ways
in which we might be able to help solve a coin logistics problem for central banks and mints throughout the European Union."
The company also announced the appointment of John Melin to lead business development for Coinstar International. Mr. Melin joined Coinstar
from McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, where he spent eight years working with major companies across a number of
industries including supermarket, financial services and telecommunications. Mr. Melin, a Canadian, holds a bachelor of science degree in
engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and a master of science degree in economics from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes
Scholar. He has broad business experience throughout North America, the Pacific Rim and Europe.
Coinstar Inc. develops, owns and operates a nationwide network of more than 3,900 automated, self-service coin counting and processing
machines that provide consumers with a convenient means of converting loose coins into spendable cash.
Consumers can call 1-800-928-CASH or visit Coinstar on the internet at coinstar.com for the location of the nearest Coinstar
machine.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially
from the results identified or implied in any forward-looking statement discussed herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, the risks that are more fully described under the caption "Risk Factors" included in the most recent
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Coinstar. |
