Corporate payments firm Corpay and global asset management firm TPG have entered into a deal to acquire accounts payable (AP) automation software provider AvidXchange.
Financial Technology Partners and Barclays served AvidXchange as financial advisers on this transaction, according to a Tuesday (May 6) news release from AvidXchange.
“TPG and Corpay will acquire AvidXchange for $10.00 per share in a cash transaction that values AvidXchange at $2.2 billion,” according to the news release. “TPG will acquire a majority interest in AvidXchange through TPG Capital, the firm’s U.S. and European private equity platform. Corpay will acquire a minority interest in the Company.”
The $2.2 billion price marks a 22% premium above AvidXchange’s closing price of $8.20 as of Tuesday, the release said. It also represents a 45% premium over the $6.89 closing price on March 12, the day before talks about the transaction were reported by media outlets.
AvidXchange will become a private company once the deal is complete, and will have more flexibility to invest in growth and offering integrated payment solutions for its customers, according to the release.
“Over the last 25 years, AvidXchange has established itself as a leader in AP automation and payment software by building a differentiated platform primed for growth,” said Michael Praeger, CEO of AvidXchange. “With TPG and Corpay, we will have the resources and long-term focus to scale our platform and provide more innovative solutions that help our customers across the country transform their accounts payable processes.”
Ron Clarke, the CEO and chairman of Corpay, said he welcomed working with TPG and AvidXchange.
“AvidXchange’s leading suite of AP automation solutions has made them a trusted partner to over 8,500 middle-market businesses and is highly complementary to our corporate payments business. We couldn’t be more excited about the company’s future prospects.”
AvidXchange first considered a sale in March amid “turbulent market conditions,” PYMNTS reported at the time.
“The ongoing discussions come as AvidXchange’s stock has faced significant challenges, plummeting 36% this year before experiencing a recent uptick,” PYMNTS wrote. “On Thursday, the company’s shares surged 14% to close at $7.84 in New York trading, valuing the company at approximately $1.6 billion. This marks a substantial decline from its initial public offering price of $25 per share in 2021.”
