GTCR Announces Acquisition of Sage Payment Solutions

GTCR, a leading private equity firm, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sage Payment Solutions, Inc. for $260 million.

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, 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.

In tandem with this well-planned strategy, GTCR has put forth $350 million of equity capital to the platform. The transaction is slated to close in the third quarter following receipt of regulatory approvals and other consents.

SPS offers credit card, ACH, check, gift, and loyalty card processing services to small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. and Canada. SPS’s payment solutions integrate with merchants’ business management software solutions and enable them to securely accept e-payments via 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, processing and other businesses.

SPS serves a diversified client size of about 100,000 SMBs which include healthcare providers, non-profit, and fait-based organizations, accounting software companies.

“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.”