• Business payments technology company Nuvei will acquire B2B payments company Paya.
• Nuvei anticipates the purchase will help it add integrated payment capabilities, diversify its business, and grow in the B2B payments space.
• The deal is expected to close for $1.3 billion.

Payment technology solutions provider Nuvei announced this week it has acquired B2B payments company Paya. The all-cash transaction is expected to close for $9.75 per share for a total value of around $1.3 billion.

Paya’s payment technology helps businesses accept payments and get paid faster and more efficiently. The company’s solutions range from payment acceptance, disbursement, and ACH, to marketing services and developer integrations.

Canada-based Nuvei anticipates the purchase will help it add integrated payment capabilities, diversify its business, and grow in the B2B payments space. Specifically, combining Paya’s integrated payment capabilities into Nuvei’s platform will add value and growth potential. Additionally, Nuvei will be able to leverage Paya’s integrations with 300 independent software vendors and commerce solutions to enter into the software-led market.

“The proposed acquisition of Paya is a powerful next step in the evolution of Nuvei, creating a preeminent payment technology provider with strong positions in global eCommerce, Integrated Payments and business-to-business,” said Nuvei Chief Executive Officer Philip Fayer. “The proposed transaction will combine two people-first, technology-led, high-growth payment platforms. It will accelerate our integrated payment strategy, diversify our business into key high-growth non-cyclical verticals with large addressable end markets, and enhance the execution of our growth plan.”

Founded in 2003, Nuvei offers global card acquiring services, alternative payment methods, crypto payments, fraud and risk management, analytics and more. The company serves businesses across a range of industries in more than 200 global markets, facilitating 150 currencies. Nuvei went public in 2020 and now has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion.

Today’s buy marks Nuvei’s 6th acquisition. The company acquired Smart2Pay and BaseCommerce in 2020, and purchased Mazooma, Simplex, and Paymentez in 2021.

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• Thoma Bravo has acquired business spend management software company Coupa for $8 billion.
• The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023.
• The acquisition follows rumors that Vista Equity Partners had planned to acquire Coupa earlier this year.

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo announced this week it is scooping up business spend management software company Coupa for a total of $8 billion. The all-cash transaction will make Coupa a privately held company and is expected to close in the first half of next year.

Coupa was founded in 2006 to offer businesses spend management solutions that help them view and control their indirect spending. Some of the company’s business spend management tools include e-invoicing, travel and expense management, spend analysis, treasury management, and more. Coupa went public in 2016 and has a current market capitalization of $5.98 billion.

“For more than a decade, we’ve been building an incredible Business Spend Management Community and have proudly cemented our position as the market-leading platform in our category. We’re looking forward to partnering with Thoma Bravo and accelerating our vision to digitally transform the Office of the CFO,” said Coupa Chairman and CEO Rob Bernshteyn. “While our ownership may change, our values do not. Every one of us at Coupa will continue to put our customers at the center of everything we do and help them maximize the value of every dollar they spend.”

Today’s report follows last month’s rumors that Texas-based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners planned to purchase Coupa. Vista Equity Partners is not only a well-known investor in the fintech space, it has also made a handful of large acquisitions in the fintech space in the past few years, having acquired tax compliance firm Avalara earlier this year and cloud identity solutions provider Ping Identity in 2016.

Interestingly enough, Thoma Bravo acquired Ping Identity earlier this year for $2.8 billion after Vista Equity Partners exited its investment in the company. Thoma Bravo takes a buy-and-build approach in which it acquires similar companies and consolidates them to create synergies and develop companies with greater scale, scope, and broader service offerings. Among Thoma Bravo’s other investments in the fintech space are Bottomline Technologies, Digital Insight, SailPoint, Ellie Mae, and Kofax.

Regarding the company’s Coupa purchase, Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Holden Spaht said, “Coupa has created and led the large and growing Business Spend Management category. We’ve followed the company’s success for many years and have been impressed by its consistent track record of delivering high levels of value for its global customer base. We look forward to partnering with Rob and the rest of the management team to keep investing in the company’s product strategy while driving growth both organically and through M&A.”

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• Small business banking platform Tide has agreed to acquire lending marketplace Funding Options.
• Tide will integrate Funding Options’ loan matching technology into its own business loan comparison site.
• Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A rising tide lifts all boats. Or in today’s case, a rising Tide lifts Funding Options. That’s because small business banking provider Tide has agreed to acquire lending marketplace Funding Options. Financial terms of the deal, which was first reported by AltFi News, were not disclosed.

U.K.-based Tide was founded in 2015 to help small businesses save time and money on banking and administrative tasks. The business bank accounts offer accounting tools, expense cards, invoicing, payment collection capabilities, business loan comparisons, and cashflow insights. Tide currently counts more than 450,000 sole traders, freelancers, and limited companies as clients.

By integrating Funding Options’ business lending comparison technology into its own, Tide will be able to offer small businesses a broader set of options when applying for a loan. That said, Tide plans to maintain the Funding Options brand as it exists today. Funding Options CEO Simon Cureton will continue to lead Funding Options and will also be charged with leading Tide’s business loan comparisons.

“With this deal, Tide is aiming to create one of the UK’s biggest digital marketplaces for SME credit, and to make it easier for small business owners to access this vital resource,” Tide CEO Oliver Prill told AltFi. “We know that getting credit is even more important to our members in these challenging times: not just in terms of the rising cost of doing business, but also when high street banks are typically slower to offer smaller businesses loans.”

Funding Options was founded in 2011 and now maintains a network more than 120 lending partners. Since launch, the company has matched small businesses with more than $812 million in working capital in increments ranging from $1200 to $5 million.

Once finalized, the deal will mark Tide’s first acquisition.

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• Banking software firm Alogent has acquired document imaging and tracking software company AccuSystems.
• Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• Adding AccuSystems’ technology will help Alogent expand to new market segments.

Banking software firm Alogent announced this week it has acquired AccuSystems, a document imaging and tracking software company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition combines two players in the enterprise content and information management space and expands the automation capabilities Alogent makes available to its bank and credit union clients. This is especially important because having a centralized data and document management platform that offers data analysis is becoming table stakes for financial institutions.

“The addition of AccuSystems to our process automation suite allows us to extend workflow experiences to new market segments with complementary capabilities proven to drive higher asset growth, improved efficiencies, and profitability for banks and credit unions,” said Alogent CEO Dede Wakefield.

AccuSystems Founder and CEO Alan Wooldridge said that the acquisition will help AccuSystems become “more impactful” by providing clients with “increased access to resources and an expanded banking ecosystem of solutions.”

Headquartered in Colorado, Accusystems provides bank document imaging and management to help banks increase control, accountability, and efficiency. The company’s imaging, exception, and loan approval workflows work with more than 30 cores and loan origination solutions and are used by more than 15,000 financial institutions. The company was founded in 1996 by Mel Hatch.

Alogent’s enterprise content and information management solution helps banks replace paper-based processes and automate workflows. Alogent was founded in 1995 and its other acquisitions include Finance Genius, Finovate alum Jwaala, and Bluepoint Solutions.

• Societe Generale will become a majority stakeholder in U.K.-based payment processor PayXpert.
• The acquisition will help Societe Generale adapt to new consumer behavior stemming from the use of new technologies such as Buy Now, Pay Later.
• In turn, PayXpert’s merchant clients will benefit from additional payments, financing, and insurance solutions.

France-based investment bank Societe Generale announced today it will become a majority stakeholder in U.K.-based payment processor PayXpert.

The acquisition aims to help Societe Generale adapt to new consumer behaviors stemming from new technologies and tools such as Buy Now, Pay Later and integrated insurance services. “Societe Generale constantly adapts its offering and innovates to address new customer journeys,” the company said in a blog post announcement.

Specifically, PayXpert’s technologies will help Societe Generale broaden its offering for retail and online merchants and continue in its quest to be a leading player in payment acceptance in Europe. As a result of the acquisition, PayXpert’s merchant clients will benefit from additional payments, financing, and insurance solutions.

“The acquisition of PayXpert would enhance our payment solutions offering by providing increasingly comprehensive and innovative services to our retail and online merchants,” said Aurore Gaspar Colson, Deputy Head of Societe Generale Retail Banking in France. “It reflects our determination to maintain an integrated approach to payments and is consistent with Societe Generale’s long-standing and innovative policy of cooperation with fintechs.”

Founded in 2008, PayXpert offers point-of-sale technologies for both online and in-person transactions, as well as solutions for subscription and recurring payments, data management, business intelligence, and more. Among the company’s clients are Uber, Santander, and Gucci. PayXpert was a finalist in the for the Best Mobile Payments Solution category in the 2020 Finovate Awards.

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• Private Equity Firm EQT has agreed to acquire B2B accounts receivable and payments company Billtrust.
• The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year for $1.7 billion.
• This move will take Billtrust back to a privately-held company, following its public debut on the NASDAQ in 2020 after closing a SPAC merger.

B2B accounts receivable and payments company Billtrust announced today it has agreed to be acquired by EQT Private Equity for $1.7 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

Once finalized, the deal will take Billtrust from the public markets. The company went public in 2020 in a SPAC merger valued at approximately $1.3 billion. Billtrust is currently listed on the NASDAQ and has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion.

“This transaction marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Billtrust, our customers and employees while providing shareholders an immediate and substantial cash value with a compelling premium,” said Billtrust Founder and CEO Flint Lane. “We believe B2B payments and accounts receivable continue to be ripe for massive disruption and innovation, and our partnership with EQT will provide us with greater resources and flexibility to build on our leadership position.”

Billtrust was founded in 2001 to offer a suite of solutions that simplify and automate B2B commerce through cloud-based software and payment processing solutions. In 2018, the company launched its Business Payments Network (BPN) that connects buyers, suppliers, and financial institutions to simplify and streamline electronic payment acceptance. The company also offers tools for credit risk managers, ecommerce solutions for wholesale distributors and manufacturing businesses, payments acceptance tools, and more.

For EQT, a Sweden-based private equity firm with $100 billion in assets under management, this marks its third fintech deal. Others in the firm’s fintech portfolio include SaaS cloud banking provider Mambu and payment acceptance company Mollie.

“The Billtrust platform features modern solutions, a compelling value proposition, and, like EQT, a commitment to innovation and transformation in the digital era,” said Arvindh Kumar, Partner and Co-Head of EQT’s Global Technology Sector Team. “Additionally, the Company operates at the intersection of software, fintech, and payments—sectors in which EQT has deep familiarity and a track record of success. With proprietary end-to-end solutions that generate value for all stakeholders and across economic cycles, Billtrust is poised to advance its leading offering in the underpenetrated accounts receivable automation space.”

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