Paysafe completes merger with SPAC Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp II

By Sunniva Kolostyak

Payments platform Paysafe Group Holdings Limited has completed a merger with Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today, 31 March.

The merger, which was announced in December last year, was approved at a special meeting of stockholders of Foley Trasimene on 25 March and closed on 30 March. The combined company now operates as Paysafe Limited, with common shares and warrants trading under the ticker symbols PSFE and PSFE.WS.

Paysafe specialises in payments using a two-sided consumer and merchant network to enable businesses and consumers around the world to connect and transact seamlessly through payment processing. This includes digital wallets Skrill and Neteller, and online cash solutions paysafecard and Paysafecash.

The transaction and move to capital markets is expected to accelerate growth, enhance margins, and support continuing M&A strategies, according to Philip McHugh, CEO of Paysafe – who will continue to lead the combined company.

He stated: “The closing of this transaction and our listing on the New York Stock Exchange is a huge milestone for Paysafe and getting to this point today is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team around the world. I would also like to thank Bill and the Foley Trasimene team for their backing and belief in our opportunity, and of course Blackstone and CVC for their continued investment and support. We’re excited to be embarking on the next stage of our growth journey as a public company.”

William P. Foley, II, Founder and Chairman of Foley Trasimene, will serve as Chairman of Paysafe’s newly formed Board of Directors. He added: “We are thrilled to complete this business combination with Paysafe and I am personally excited to continue to work with Philip, Blackstone, CVC and the entire board as we continue to execute against our plan for accelerated and profitable growth. Paysafe has the right assets, team and strategy in place to capitalise on a tremendous opportunity for long-term value creation in the payments industry, especially in iGaming which is really beginning to open up across the United States.”

Credit Suisse acted as the lead financial advisor and capital markets advisor to Paysafe. Morgan Stanley also acted as financial advisor to Paysafe. BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays, Wolfe Capital Markets and Advisory, BMO Capital Markets and Evercore also acted as capital markets advisors. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to Paysafe. Proton Partners acted as strategic advisor to Paysafe.

RBC Capital Markets LLC., BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisors to Foley Trasimene. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acted as legal counsel to Foley Trasimene.