Paysafe Receives $3.8 Billion Offer From Blackstone, CVC

(Bloomberg) -- Paysafe Group Plc said it received a conditional offer from Blackstone Group LP and CVC Capital Partners valuing the business at 2.9 billion pounds ($3.8 billion).

The funds offered 590 pence a share in cash, according to a statement by the payments processing firm on Friday. The funds initially approached the board of Paysafe in May and had made a number of indicative proposals since then, the firm said in the statement.

Shares in Paysafe rose 8.58 percent to 588 pence in London, the biggest rise since December. Paysafe closed at 542 pence on Thursday. 

Old Mutual Global Investors (U.K.), the company’s largest shareholder with about 10.3 percent of the firm’s shares, has sent a non-binding letter supporting the offer. The bidders have until Aug. 18 to confirm their bid.

Consolidation is accelerating in the rapidly growing payments sector as consumers increasingly switch to online purchases and electronic payments. Vantiv Inc. of the U.S. agreed this month to buy Worldpay Group Plc for 7.7 billion pounds and Permira and Nordic Capital are among buyout firms considering bids for Nets A/S, the Danish payment-services provider.

Separately, Paysafe has reached a deal to acquire Shenandoah, Texas-based payments processor Merchants’ Choice Payment Solution for $470 million. MCPS handles more than $14 billion of sales volume each year and has point-of-sale products which will strengthen Paysafe’s business in that area, according to a statement on Friday.

A successful bid would mark a return to Paysafe for CVC, which sold out of the firm in December 2015. CVC had taken a stake in payments processor as part of the sale of Skrill Group to Paysafe that same year.

Part of the financing of the new bid by Blackstone and CVC relies on the disposal of various Paysafe businesses, including its Asia Gateway arm.

Lazard Ltd. is the lead adviser to Paysafe, with Credit Suisse Group AG advising Blackstone and CVC.

To contact the reporters on this story: Neil Callanan in London at ncallanan@bloomberg.net, Giles Turner in London at gturner35@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Neil Callanan at ncallanan@bloomberg.net, Cindy Roberts