By Amy-Jo Crowley
LONDON (Reuters) - Advent International has signed a deal to buy payments firm myPOS as part of the London-based buyout group's latest push into digital payments, director Fabio Cali told Reuters.
The fund will acquire the UK-based provider of payments services for small merchants through a new vehicle called Circle that it plans to expand through further acquisitions in the fast-growing sector, Cali said.
The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of the year, he added.
The move comes despite investors becoming more cautious about the payments sector, with stretched valuations coming under pressure from higher interest rates and global funding of fintech deals dropping sharply following a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advent, which manages $92 billion in assets, is behind some of Europe's largest payments buyouts, including Vantiv, Worldpay, XPLOR, Planet and Nexi (BIT:NEXII).
The acquisition is expected to value myPOS at around 500 million euros ($542.15 million), two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The payments sector has had a run of transactions recently. SumUp said last year it had raised 590 million euros in a funding round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities. JP Morgan last year also bought a stake in Athens-based payments fintech Viva Wallet.
Established in 2012, myPOS works with 170,000 small businesses across transport, retail and hospitality among other sectors in continental Europe, providing payments processing tools. It also provides merchants with a business account and card, as well as lending and other payment services.
With 500 employees across Europe, it is one of a small group of fast-growing companies, including PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Zettle and SumUp, which focus on customers that traditional banks have missed out on, Cali said.
Smaller merchants are finding solutions elsewhere because they cannot afford the older card reader machines provided by banks, he said.
"The experience is also better with companies such as myPOS, who offer faster onboarding, better technology and at a lower cost," he added.
myPOS founder Christo Georgiev is exiting the business, while management will remain involved and invested in the business, one of the people said. Georgiev did not respond to a request for comment.
The company is targeting a revenue run rate of 100 million euros this year, one of the people said. Group revenue jumped by 39% to 60.1 million pounds in 2022, as pre-tax profits fell from 10% to 5.3 million pounds, according to filings with Companies House in the UK.
($1 = 0.9223 euros)