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Atlanta-based payments platform Paya Holdings Inc. has agreed to be acquired for $1.3 billion by Nuvei Corp., a payments company headquartered in Montreal.
Purchased by the private equity firm GTCR in 2017, Paya went public via SPAC on the Nasdaq market in 2020, after which GTCR remained the company’s largest shareholder. The deal is an all-cash offer that has GTCR’s support, according to a news release.
Paya processes $45 billion in payments annually for more than 100,000 customers through 2,000 software and distribution partners.
Nuvei said it was enticed by the prospect of combining Paya’s strength in “integrated payments” with its own global tech platform and e-commerce reach. Nuvei, which itself is focused more on consumer payments, also appreciated Paya’s integrations with 300 independent software vendors, its prominence in the B2B space and its diversified presence in “non-cyclical” businesses like health care, education, government and utilities.
Paya originated in 1989 as the payment-processing arm of British-based business software provider Sage, which has a major presence in Atlanta. It rebranded to Paya from Sage Payment Solutions in 2018 after being purchased by GTCR the previous year.
Combined, Nuvei and Paya had $1.1 billion in revenues for the year ended September 2022, with combined net income of $74.5 million, the bulk of that coming from Nuvei’s $65 million. Paya posted profit of $9.5 million on $277 million in revenues over that period.
Both boards of directors have agreed to the transaction, which is expected to close during the first quarter of 2023.