The London-listed online payment company Paysafe agreed to the terms and conditions of the £2.9 billion takeover offer from the private equity companies Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners, which resulted in Paysafe’s market price per share to go up with a jump.
Paysafe’s shareholders agreed on the terms of the takeover offer, under which the two equity leaders Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners will acquire the online payment company for 590p per share. Under the agreement, the bidders will pay £2.9 billion to purchase Paysafe. On Friday morning Paysafe officially announced the shareholders’ decision to agree to the terms of the bid.
The multi-billion takeover bid immediately increased the price per share in Paysafe with almost 34%. Supposing the two acquirers and the company target shake hands on the deal, Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners should pay nearly £2.9 billion in a period of six months in order to finalize the deal.
Currently, the deal is not completed, but it seems that it is only a matter of time until the companies sign the deal. It was even reported that Chief executive Joel Leonoff and Chief Financial officer Brian McArthur-Muscroft already agreed to sell their shares. Old Mutual Global Investors (U.K.), the biggest shareholder in Paysafe also expressed its intention to agree on the offer. Up to now, Paysafe refused many takeover offers by other companies, before receiving the lucrative proposal from Blackstone and CVC in May 2017.
Besides all the services, which Paysafe offers, it plays also an important role in the gaming industry, as it offers players to place their bets online via digital wallet. Hence, the probable acquisition of the payment company will pave the way for Blackstone and CVC Capital to enter the gambling industry.
It should be noted that there is a rising tendency for the companies to target digital payment firms. That is not a surprise, taking into account the increasing number of people, who prefer to use online payment methods instead of the traditional cash payment. Earlier this year, Nordic Capital sold Bambora (a Swedish digital payment company) to Ingenico Group for €1.5 billion, earning 5 times more than its initial investment.
The companies bidders should confirm their proposal before 18th August. The bidding is opened also to other companies to give their offers. However, the equity companies have their reasons to offer such a staggering price per share, as Paysafe is one of the main digital methods used by the gambling industry to process online money transfers. Having in mind that the trade is constantly growing at a rapid pace, this means that the investment will most probably turn out to be worth it.
