Tax refund specialist Fintrax Group completes €219 million acquisition of Planet Payment

USA/IRELAND. Tax refund specialist and Premier Tax Free parent Fintrax Group has completed the acquisition of international payment processing firm Planet Payment, in a deal worth €219 million. Eurazeo, a global investment company listed in Paris, is contributing €109 million to the financing of the acquisition as the majority shareholder in Ireland-based Fintrax since 2015.

Earlier this week we reported that the transaction was almost finalised, with the share tender offer completed. The deal was first flagged in October.

The combined business will employ over 1,000 staff in 40 offices across the world and will process over €15 billion in payment related services in 2017.

Planet Payment’s solutions, including a service that allow banks and merchants to offer customers personalised payments in their home currency at the point of sale, online or at the ATM, are complementary to Fintrax Group’s current product offering. This includes VAT refund services as well as dynamic currency conversion payment processing services.

Fintrax Group CEO Patrick Waldron said: “The purchase of Planet Payment expands our ability to serve our 300,000 global merchants, both directly and through 100 partner banks. Our combined business will operate in 55 countries across five continents, positioning us as a leader in Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and multi-currency processing in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. We look forward to working with Carl Williams and his team, who have built an impressive business with some of the world’s leading acquirers and banks.”

Planet Payment Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carl J. Williams added: “We are excited to join the Fintrax organisation and to combine our unique products and services, adding more value to our banks and acquirers. Fintrax will bring increased global scale, investment that expands our services, and ultimately deepens our relationships with our customers.”

Planet Payment becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Fintrax. Planet Payment’s common stock has ceased to be traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market.

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