The proposed merger will enable Paysafe to go public with a valuation of more than $10bn
Paysafe and Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp II are reportedly in merger talks. (Credit: aymane jdidi from Pixabay)
A blank-cheque firm led by American billionaire Bill Foley is reportedly in discussions to merge with Paysafe Group, a UK-based online payments company.
The enlarged company, post-merger, will have an enterprise value of more than $10bn, including debt, reported Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources.
The report added that discussions are continuing and could still fail.
Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) associated with Bill Foley, has started talks with investors to secure new equity of over $1bn to support the potential merger deal.
In August 2020, Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp II raised $1.47bn in an initial public offering.
Paysafe Group is owned by Blackstone Group and CVC Capital Partners. The proposed merger with the blank-cheque firm will take it public.
The company helps businesses and consumers to connect and transact through its capabilities in payment processing, card issuing, digital wallet, and online cash solutions.
Paysafe has reportedly restarted discussions with advisers for a public listing in the US that is likely to take place in 2021.
The company, which has nearly 3,000 employees in more than 12 locations across the world, had an annualised transactional volume of over $98bn in 2019.
Paysafe’s brands include Income access, paysafecard, Paysafe:cash, NETELLER, Skrill, and PCS.
Skrill, which is an online payment brand, announced that it is removing all fees and foreign exchange charges with immediate effect for anyone using Skrill Money Transfer to send money in or out of Italy amid new Covid-19 restrictions.
The online payment brand of Paysafe will also provide its wallet and Quick Checkout solution to businesses in the country without any charges for two months. The free services are for businesses using the service for the first time and will be valid until the end of this year.
In July 2020, Paysafe acquired US-based Openbucks, that enables online merchants to accept retail gift cards as an alternative type of payment to credit cards.