:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bloomberglinea/I5CFQXKILZHBBO5LZE3BU35F2M.jpg "payments sector has been consolidating following a period of rapid growth that accelerated when the pandemic intensified consumers’ shift away from using cash.")
Bloomberg — Global Payments Inc. (GPN) agreed to buy Evo Payments Inc. (EVOP) for about $1.6 billion in cash to expand into new markets in Europe and South America.
Global Payments will pay $34 a share, according to a statement Monday. That’s about 24% higher than the closing price Friday and roughly 40% above the stock’s 60-day average price.
“The acquisition of Evo is highly complementary to our technology-enabled strategy, and provides meaningful opportunities to increase scale in our business globally,” Global Payments Chief Operating Officer Cameron Bready said in the statement.
The payments sector has been consolidating following a period of rapid growth that accelerated when the pandemic intensified consumers’ shift away from using cash. Global Payments last year agreed to buy real estate software company Zego from Vista Equity Partners in an all-cash transaction valued at $925 million.
The Evo transaction will expand Global Payments’ presence in new regions including Poland, Germany and Chile, and enhance its scale in existing markets such as the US, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Ireland and the UK, according to the statement.
Global Payments climbed 3% to $126 at 8:40 a.m. in early New York trading. Evo rose 21% to $33.
Read more at Bloomberg.com
