Neither has an Atlanta headquarters now, but two of Boston-based venture-capital firm Advent International’s portfolio companies are combining to create a major new payments player in the city that bills itself “Transaction Alley.”
Clearent, a St. Louis-based processor, is combining with Auckland, New Zealand-based Transaction Services Group, a business software firm with a focus on subscription management, into a globally connected payments firm called Xplor Technologies, which will be based in Atlanta.
Xplor will integrate cloud-based payment processing with enterprise software for businesses what in five of what it calls the “everyday life” verticals: education, health, boutique wellness, field service and personal services, according to a news release.
Its selection of Atlanta is an endorsement of the city’s enduring draw as a payment-processing hub, even as a wave of consolidation sweeps the industry. According to the Technology Association of Georgia, 70 percent of U.S. payment transactions pass are processed by a company with a presence in Georgia, while the sector accounts for north of 30,000 jobs in the state.
“Diversity and a strong tech ecosystem are critical to our strategic direction, therefore we have chosen Atlanta for its diverse talent pool, high caliber universities, existing payments ecosystem, a solid tech hub, and the fact that it’s relatively affordable, has good flight connections to our global offices plus an existing presence to build on,” TSG CEO Floris de Kort said in an emailed statement to Global Atlanta.
After the combination, Xplor will process $27 billion in payments for 82,000 clients across 158 countries, and it will boast 2,000 employees spread across the world. Clearent’s offices are mainly in the U.S., while TSG works in multiple offices across Australasia, Europe, the United Kingdom and North America.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year; the terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company has not ironed out how many people it will employ in the city.
“We are committed to Atlanta and increasing our presence as we build out our business, but at this stage it’s too early to express that in numbers,” Mr. de Kort said.
Clearent currently has 100 employees in Atlanta.
Learn more at https://www.xplortechnologies.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that neither company had an Atlanta presence. Clearent has an office with 100 people.
