Nuvei is set to go private after its plans received approvals from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), America’s stock market regulator.
The Canadian fintech expects the public-to-private transition to be completed ‘on or about’ 15 November, subject to some additional closing conditions. Rumours of the company potentially going private began in March, and were confirmed in the summer.
Advent International, one of the 10 largest private equity firms in the world headquartered in New York City, agreed terms to acquire Nuvei for US$6.3bn, amounting to £34 per share.
Terms of the deal will see Philip Fayer, Nuvei Founder and CEO, retain his leadership position under Advent International’s ownership of his firm. The arrangement received approval from Nuvei shareholders on 18 June 2024 and the Superior Court of Quebec on 20 June 2024.
Approval from the SEC means Nuvei will likely soon delist from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) and the New York Nasdaq, where its stocks have been traded since 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Founded by Fayer in Montreal in 2003, with its HQ remaining in the Quebec city to this day, Nuvei has built itself up as one of North America’s most prominent payments companies. Its partnerships encompass a broad spectrum of industries including credit, ecommerce and gambling.
The company’s history has also been defined by acquisitions.
In 2017 it acquired Canadian payments service provider SafeChange, followed by payments technology firm SmartPay and processing firm Base Commerce in 2020, payment provider Mazooma and Latin America-focused Paymentez in 2021, American payments processor Paya in 2023 and Brazilian payments institution Pay2All in August this year.
On top of all this the firm has a mixed history of acquisitions. An early investor was major US bank Goldman Sachs in 2006. Novacap Management and the Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund (CDPG) invested in 2017 and remain company shareholders to this day, and Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds bought a stake in 2023.
Under its new ownership change, according to details released in April, Advent will hold a majority share in the company of 42%. The remaining shares will be split between Fayer (28% ) and Novacap Management (18%) and CDPG (12%).
