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Shift4 Payments Inc. announced Monday it has agreed to acquire Givex Corp., a provider of gift card, e-gift card, loyalty, and POS solutions in an all-cash transaction valued at $200 million Canadian, or $148 million U.S. The acquisition of Toronto-based Givex, which services the restaurant and retail industries, will add more than 130,000 locations across more than 100 countries to Shift4’s customer base. The deal is expected to close in November.
While Shift4 currently has an in-house gift card and loyalty solution, the acquisition of Givex brings “advanced enterprise gift and loyalty capabilities that will enhance Shift4’s current offering,” Shift4 senior vice president and spokesperson Nate Hirshberg says by email.
Merchants within Givex’s portfolio include fast-food chain Wendy’s, steakhouse chain Texas Roadhouse, convenience-store chain 7-Eleven Inc., Marriott Hotels and Resorts, and Nike Inc. Givex’s merchant portfolio includes “many notable blue-chip merchants that will now be able to benefit from Shift4’s end-to-end payment solution,” Hirshberg adds.
The acquisition of Givex is also seen as a natural fit for Shift4, which has a long history of acquiring third-party companies to enhance its value proposition, says Cliff Gray at Gray Consulting Ventures LLC.
“Shift4 has shown it is good at integrating third-party [technologies] that add value and provide lower-cost alternative payment methods to credit and debit cards [such as gift cards],” Gray says. “Givex provides those capabilities.”
The addition of Givex’s loyalty programs could also help merchants increase customer retention, especially among consumers who prefer to pay with a credit card, observers say.
Givex’s loyalty programs include tiered offerings that allow consumers to earn more points and rewards based on their spending levels; visit-based programs that encourage repeat visits; points programs; and customized loyalty programs.
“There are consumers that are going to pay with their credit card regardless, but that want some type of reward from the merchant, and Givex can enable that,” says Gray. “When you look at Shift4’s platform and marketing strategy, this acquisition makes perfect sense.”
Center Valley, Pa.-based Shift4 has been an active buyer in recent months. In the second quarter alone, it reinforced its already major position in restaurants with a $250-million deal for the POS technology vendor Revel Systems. Weeks later, it paid about $38 million to acquire Vectron Systems AG, a deal that gave Shift4 a bigger presence in POS technology for restaurants in Europe.
