SPS, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, is a leading provider of payment processing and merchant acquiring solutions in North America. GTCR is acquiring SPS from The Sage Group plc (LSE: SGE) ("Sage"), a global provider of integrated accounting, payroll and payment solutions headquartered in the UK.
GTCR is partnering with SPS management to pursue organic growth initiatives and fund future acquisitions in the payment processing industry. To support this strategy, GTCR has committed up to $350 million of equity capital to the platform. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter following receipt of regulatory approvals and other consents.
SPS provides credit card, ACH, check, gift and loyalty card processing services to small and medium-sized businesses ("SMBs") in the United States and Canada. SPS's payment solutions integrate with merchants' business management software solutions and enable them to securely accept electronic payments through multiple channels, including card-present, e-Commerce and mobile.
Through the Company's Sage Payment Solutions EFT subsidiary, SPS offers specialized ACH processing services to merchants, processors and other businesses. SPS serves a diversified client base of approximately 100,000 SMBs including healthcare providers, non-profit and faith-based organizations, and accounting software companies.
In conjunction with the transaction, SPS and Sage entered into a strategic alliance to facilitate ongoing cooperation serving merchants and partners.
Under the terms of this alliance, SPS will be the preferred provider of merchant processing services to Sage clients in the United States. SPS and Sage will work to provide a superior payments experience to mutual customers through seamless technology integration and exceptional service. SPS and Sage have pledged to work together to maintain the integration of technology and systems.
Sage will retain a financial interest in SPS in addition to the strategic alliance and other commercial agreements between the parties.
"We are delighted to partner with the SPS management team at this exciting time in the Company's evolution," said Collin Roche, Managing Director at GTCR. "SPS has a leading platform with robust software integrations in attractive end markets. We intend to invest further in the technology and offer additional innovative solutions to SPS customers and partners. GTCR's long history of investing in payments and extensive experience in corporate carve-outs provides us with a differentiated perspective on the Company, and we are excited to bring significant resources and expertise to help fuel the next phase of SPS's growth."
Aaron Cohen, Managing Director at GTCR, continued: "We are excited to acquire SPS and work as partners with Sage on a go-forward basis. We believe the Company is well positioned to continue its growth and success within the rapidly evolving area of integrated payments, and we look forward to supporting greater organic growth and expansion through acquisition."
Fully committed financing for the transaction has been arranged by GTCR and funded by Antares, Ares, Jefferies, Barclays and NXT. Jefferies served as financial advisor. Latham & Watkins and Paul Hastings served as legal counsel.
