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Palamon Capital Partners has sold the Australian divisions of its portfolio company Retail Decisions (ReD) for A$353 million (£204.3 million).

The businesses, which specialise in fuel cards and prepaid cards, were sold to US-based Wright Express Corporation.

The proceeds of the transaction are to be used to repay all of ReD’s debt and to make a payment to its shareholders. Palamon and its co-investors, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners and AlpInvest Partners, will receive payments equivalent to their initial investments in the company and will retain a controlling stake in ReD.

Fabio Massimo Giuseppetti, a partner at Palamon says: ‘This transaction allows Palamon to return substantially all of our investment in ReD to investors.  This is Palamon’s third exit in 2010 and with this transaction Palamon will have realised aggregate proceeds on its investments this year to date in excess of €170 million (£141.4 million).’

Carl Clump, group chief executive of ReD, comments: ‘I now look forward to continuing to work with Palamon as we accelerate our ambitious growth plans for our payment fraud prevention business.’

UK-based ReD was acquired by Palamon in 2006. The Australian businesses being sold are ReD Fuel and ReD Prepaid, and have a combined turnover of A$58 million.

Maine-based Wright Express provides fuel and corporate credit cards. The company employs over 670 staff and in 2009 declared sales of $318.2 million (£202.7 million).

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