Sky Bet and Tipico-owner in £2.9bn bid for Paysafe
CVC Capital partners with PokerStars shareholder Blackstone to make all-cash offer for FTSE 250 firm
Paysafe has received an all-cash offer for 100% of its shares from a consortium of funds managed by Blackstone and Sky Bet-owner CVC Capital.
The offer of 590p per share values the payments company at approximately £2.9bn and is an approximate 34% premium on the market price for the six months period to 30 June.
Paysafe said in a statement it was first approached by the two funds back in May but rejected an initial offer. It is considering the current one with a deadline of 18 August.
Paysafe’s largest shareholder, Old Mutual Global investors, which holds 10.3% of the company, has indicated its support for the offer.
Under the terms of the proposal, the bidders would also sell off Paysafe’s Asia Gateway business to a third party with terms already agreed.
The news sent Paysafe’s shares up 8% in early trading to a record high of 592p. The stock is up 58% year-to-date.
The potential deal continues a period of major consolidation for the payments sector, after the UK’s leading process Worldpay was bought for £9bn by US rival Vantiv earlier this month.
Of the two bidding funds, Blackstone has previously made a $1bn investment in PokerStars, while CVC is the majority owner of Sky Bet and Tipico.