Payments firm Flywire explores sale after receiving acquisition interest, sources say

Flywire

02/08/2024 16:55

(Adds details of share movement (paragraph 4, 6-7))
    By Milana Vinn
       NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Flywire  FLYW.O , a U.S.
payments processor with a market value of $2.3 billion, is
exploring a sale after attracting takeover interest, according
to people familiar with the matter.
    Boston, Massachusetts-based Flywire is working with
investment bankers at Qatalyst Partners to evaluate interest
from potential buyers, which include private equity firms, the
sources said. 
    The talks are at an early stage and no deal is certain, the
sources said, requesting anonymity because the matter is
confidential.
    Flywire's shares jumped more than 10% on the news on Friday.
    Flywire and Qatalyst did not immediately respond to requests
for comment. 
    Flywire became an acquisition target as its shares were down
about 25% to yesterday's close from the start of the year,
underperforming a 5% rise in the S&P 500 Transaction and Payment
Processing index. 
        The company's shares, which have been trading in New
York since their initial public offering in 2021, have lost
nearly half of their value since then. 
  
    Payments processors like Flywire thrived during the pandemic
as customers turned to digital payment methods, but have since
struggled to maintain growth amid increased competition and high
inflation.
    Founded in 2011, Flywire processes several billions of
dollars in transactions and works with more than 4,000 customers
in over 240 countries, according to its website.  
    The company is focused on facilitating payments in
industries including education, healthcare and travel. It counts
Singaporean state investor Temasek Holdings among its backers.

 (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Anirban Sen,
Chizu Nomiyama and Conor Humphries)
 ((Anirban.Sen@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @asenjourno; Reuters
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