A Galway company is snapping up a Nasdaq-listed tech firm in a massive deal
Fintrax will spend about €200 million buying Planet Payment.
GALWAY-BASED TECH firm Fintrax has entered into an agreement to buy US Nasdaq-listed company Planet Payment.
The Irish firm announced today that it will acquire Planet Payment for $4.50 per share in cash. The deal, which values the US firm at about $224 million (€193 million), has been unanimously approved by the Planet Payment board of directors.
The transaction is now subject to approval by Planet Payment’s shareholders, certain regulatory approvals and other standard closing conditions.
Fintrax assists in providing VAT refund for tourists buying products overseas and offers several other services, such as currency conversion.
Planet Payment is a similar type of company that is provides international payment processing and multi-currency processing services.
Closing the deal
In a statement released by Fintrax, it said that Planet Payment’s directors, executive officers and certain shareholders, who own about a quarter of the company, support the deal.
“The transaction is expected to close by year-end,” it said.
Fintrax’s chief executive, Patrick Waldron, said that the acquisition of Planet Payment “will expand our ability to serve global customers, particularly in the US, Canada, the Middle East, Latin America, China and South-East Asia.”
Fintrax employs about 800 employees around the world. The firm’s services are used in thousands of stores around the world, including several Irish retailers such as Brown Thomas and Arnotts.
Fintrax is based in Ballinahown in Galway. In 2015 French investment firm Eurazeo bought a 90% stake in the company in a deal worth over €300 million.
