Specialized payments platform Paysafe (NYSE:PSFE) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SafetyPay for $441 million in an all-cash transaction.
SafetyPay is a leading payments platform that enables eCommerce transactions via an unrivalled choice of open banking and eCash solutions, operating primarily in Latin America. For Paysafe, this latest deal strengthens its strategic foothold in Latin America, building on its recently announced acquisition agreement with Peruvian payments platform, PagoEfectivo. Together the two acquisitions set Paysafe up to be the leading open banking and eCash solutions provider in Latin America, one of the world’s fastest-growing online markets.
Upon completion of the transaction, Paysafe will have scale and a leading presence in the fast-growing Latin American eCommerce market, where merchants and consumers alike are showing an increasing appetite to use open banking and eCash solutions to transact online. Further, with SafetyPay having established relationships with more banks in Latin America than any other payments provider, Paysafe will be uniquely positioned to capture share of the nascent open banking market by integrating further Paysafe services and solutions into the region’s payments ecosystem including its digital wallet and gateway capabilities.
On completion of the deal, the SafetyPay team will transition into Paysafe’s expanding eCash and online banking solutions’ team which is headed up by Paysafe eCash CEO, Udo Mueller. At that time, SafetyPay’s CEO, Gustavo Ruiz Moya, will become CEO, eCash for Latin America and Global Head of Open Banking, reporting into Mueller. The enlarged Paysafe eCash business will be able to offer eCash and open banking solutions in over 60 countries with over one million distribution points.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. Paysafe’s banks have provided financing commitments and Paysafe intends to refinance these bridge facilities with new debt contemporaneously with the completion of the acquisition.
RBC Capital Markets, LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Greenberg Traurig, LLP served as legal advisor to Paysafe. PJT Partners served as exclusive financial advisor and Quarles & Brady served as legal advisor to SafetyPay.