NORTH CANTON, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio-based ATM maker Diebold Inc. has sold its much-criticized U.S. voting-machine business to a competitor, Election Systems & Software Inc. of Omaha, Neb.
Diebold, based in North Canton, announced the sale of its Allen, Texas-based subsidiary Premier Election Solutions Inc. on Thursday. Diebold will get $5 million plus payments representing 70 percent of collections of the unit's accounts receivable as of Aug. 31.
Diebold expects to recognize a pretax loss on the deal in the range of $45 million to $55 million.
Last year Premier generated 2.8 percent of Diebold's revenue. Diebold faced repeated criticism over the reliability and security of its touch-screen voting machines and began looking for a buyer for Premier more than two years ago.