Montreal-based fintech Nuvei has agreed to buy the Atlanta-based payments company Paya for $1.3 billion, the companies announced Monday.

Nuvei, which enables companies to accept payments and offers payout options, plans to incorporate Paya’s integrated payment capabilities into its global platform, according to their Monday news release. Paya offers integrated payments in business-to-business, healthcare, nonprofit and education verticals, among others.

The acquisition will strengthen Nuvei’s position in global e-commerce, integrated payments and business-to-business arenas, Nuvei’s CEO Philip Fayer said in the release. Nuvei was founded in 2003, according to the company’s LinkedIn profile.

The addition of Paya “will accelerate our integrated payment strategy, diversify our business into key high-growth non-cyclical verticals with large addressable end markets and enhance the execution of our growth plan,” Fayer said in the release.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter, according to the release. Nuvei said it plans to finance the purchase with a combination of cash, an existing credit facility and a new $600 million first lien secured credit facility.

Paya was exploring a sale last year, Bloomberg reported in June. After less activity in 2022, payments industry merger and acquisitions are expected to rise this year, especially in light of lower stock prices and valuations. 

Paya, which went public in 2020 via a special-purpose acquisition company, sees “strong momentum in our high-growth and underpenetrated middle market partners in durable end-markets, and believe that Nuvei’s resources will enable us to continue our mission of solving complex business problems with easy-to-use payment solutions,” Paya CEO Jeff Hack said in the release.

Nuvei’s purchase price for Paya provides a 25% premium on the acquired company’s Jan. 6 closing stock price, the release said.

By Caitlin Mullen on Jan 9, 2023
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