With Acquirers in M&A Crosshairs, Rumors Surface That Moneris’s U.S. Arm Is in Play

Moneris Solutions USA, the U.S. arm of Canada-based Moneris Solutions Corp., appears to have suitors, according to a recent Bloomberg.com report. Moneris is a joint venture between RBC Financial Group and BMO Bank of Montreal.

Bloomberg.com reports that merchant processor Vantiv Inc. and Warburg Pincus LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, are among the companies interested in Moneris Solutions USA. Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, said processor First Data Corp. and investment firms Bain Capital LP, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, and Advent International Corp. are among others interested. The U.S. unit could fetch as much as $600 million, according to Bloomberg.

Moneris did not respond to a Digital Transactions News inquiry. Vantiv declined to comment on the matter, calling it “market rumors or speculation.”

Merger-and-acquisition activity in the payment-processing industry has seen some high-profile deals, including Global Payments Inc.’s $4.3 billion acquisition of Heartland Payment Systems Inc., Vantiv’s $1.65 billion purchase of Mercury Payment Systems LLC, and Paysafe Group Plc’s $1.2 billion deal to buy digital-wallet specialist Skrill. Paysafe is the new name for Optimal Payments Plc. And there have been many other deals of varying size.

Moneris USA’s position may make it a good acquisition candidate, suggests Gil Luria, managing director at Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities, via email to Digital Transactions News. “This is a good time to sell a merchant-processing business—growth, margins, and valuation multiples for merchant acquirers in the U.S. are at a peak,” Luria says. “Moneris USA is a relatively small acquirer, so [it] may make sense for a larger acquirer with scale to integrate this business.”