The private equity industry's appetite for blockbuster payment deals shows no signs of abating as Blackstone and CVC agree a £2.96 billion deal to acquire online payments company Paysafe.
Under the terms, each Paysafe Shareholder will be entitled to receive 590 pence per share, a 42% premium over the group's average value over the past year.
The deal will give Blackstone and CVC exposure to the online gambling industry, a significant business sector for Paysafe whose pre-paid digital wallet facilitates bets without taking money from bank accounts.
Paysafe's merchant services businesses in Asia will be split off and sold to Spectrum Global Limited for approximately $308 million. Neteller, the FCA-registered online payments arm of Paysafe's merchant operations, will remain under the Blackstone/CVC hood.
The acquisition, which is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2017, follows a spate of billion dollar deals in the payments processing industry, spurred by the promise of cash-generating growth in online and mobile payments.
Martin Brand, senior managing director of Blackstone, says: “As a leading technology investor, Blackstone believes that Paysafe is an ideal platform for continued innovation in the payments space, and look forward to supporting Paysafe's growth both organically and through acquisitions.”