Payoneer Set To Go Public In $3.3 Billion Merger With Blank-Check Company

Payments provider Payoneer has agreed to become a public company through a merger with a “blank check” company, FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp., Bloomberg reported. The deal values eCommerce heavy-hitter Payoneer at $3.3 billion.

Payoneer, a payments service provider for such companies as Airbnb and Amazon, is reportedly profitable and expects to pull in $432 million in revenues this year. The company processed more than $44 billion in payments last year.

Investors in Payoneer include Viola Ventures, Ping An, Greylock Partners, TCV and Wellington Management Co. The company, which works in over 200 nations and territories, was founded by Yuval Tal in Israel and is currently headed up by CEO Scott Galit.

FTAC raised approximately $755 million in an initial public offering (IPO) in August. It is headed up by Betsy Cohen, its chairman, and Ryan Gilbert, its CEO.

The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) was formed to go on the hunt to buy an existing company or companies. It had been in discussions to bring in new investments to help with the Payoneer deal. The transaction also includes a $300 million PIPE, or a private investment in public equity.

“Payoneer is a wonderful example — and I’d be hard-pressed to reach for another one that is quite as well advanced, in which the adoption curves of consumers and the capacity of the technology have melded and merged quite so well,” Cohen told Bloomberg.

Payoneer’s deal follows a similar announcement from Paysafe Group, which agreed to go public by merging with a blank-check firm led by billionaire Bill Foley.

Sending and receiving money overseas can be lucrative for payments companies, but the pandemic has cut into that business. A big exception has been the explosion in eCommerce, including cross-border sales taking place all over the world.

Payoneer said it plans to expand its offerings after going public. “We’re excited to not only have a bigger balance sheet, but also a public currency,” Galit said to Bloomberg.