N.Y. firm set to sell Portland company Stock offering slated for Wright Express

PORTLAND – Wright Express Corp., a provider of charge cards for business and government vehicle fleets, is being sold in a stock offering that will make the company public while raising $1 billion for its corporate parent.

The company is being sold by New York-based Cendant Corp., a publicly traded company that is selling off subsidiaries to focus on its core travel and real estate businesses. Wright Express’ initial public offering is scheduled for March, and it will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WXS.

The deal will keep the company based in South Portland, but as a stand-alone firm owned by individual and institutional shareholders rather than an out-of-state corporation. It won’t result in any layoffs for the company’s 611 employees, 533 of whom work in four buildings near the Maine Mall. And it will keep Wright Express’ management team in place.

“Now we have direct control over our destiny,” said Michael Dubyak, the company’s president and chief executive officer.

Wright Express evolved from an old-line Portland company, A.R. Wright, which sold coal and ice and later oil and gasoline. Beginning in 1983, it started offering gasoline credit cards to companies to process their payments and manage their fleet information.

The company has grown to become a leading southern Maine employer, providing good jobs in information technology. The company pays an average base salary of $48,810, excluding bonuses and benefit packages. The company also has 34 employees in Salt Lake City and 44 sales representatives in the field.

Wright Express handles transactions for more than 270,000 commercial and government fleets with more than 3.8 million vehicles. Its credit cards are accepted at nine out of 10 of the nation’s retail fuel locations and 40,000 vehicle-maintenance locations. Among the data it gathers is the amount of each sale, the identification of the driver and vehicle, and the odometer reading.

Wright Express earns revenue based on the number and value of the transactions it processes. In 2003, it had revenue of $156.9 million and net income of $34.6 million. That represented five-year compound annual growth rates of 22 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

For the nine months that ended Sept. 30, revenue hit $138.7 million and net income reached $37 million.

Maine analysts who have watched Wright Express over the years said they were encouraged by Tuesday’s announcement.

“I think it’s great news,” said Brad McCurtain, president of Maine Securities in Portland. “Cendant has been under a cloud, and Wright Express has been one of their jewels.”

Cendant, based in New York, is the world’s top hotel franchiser with more than 6,400 locations, including AmeriHost Inn, Days Inn and Super 8 brands. Other holdings include Avis and Budget Rent A Car, and Century 21 and Coldwell Banker real estate companies.