Payments firm Planet valued at €1.8bn after latest investment

31 May 2021

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Private equity firm Advent International has acquired a stake in the Galway fintech company, which provides payment services.

Planet, a Galway-based fintech company, has secured investment from Advent International, a private equity firm.

Existing shareholder Eurazeo has sold a portion of its stake to Advent. The deal, according to Eurazeo, values the Irish payments company at €1.8bn.

Advent said it will “share co-control” of the payments company with Eurazeo going forward. Advent is a regular backer of fintech companies, having invested around $4bn in eight companies in the sector.

Planet develops a digital payments platform for services including acquiring, processing and currency conversion. It has clients in retail, hospitality, parking and financial services.

“This new investment will accelerate the rate at which we develop and roll-out new innovations,” chief executive Patrick Waldron said. “It will ensure we are able to offer our customers and partners a world-leading range of payments solutions in keeping with consumers’ ever changing needs and expectations.”

Planet plans to expand through both organic growth and acquisitions. Last year, it acquired Luxembourgish company 3C Payment in a bid to fuel its growth. The merger saw Planet double the value of the transactions its processes annually to €45bn.

“In today’s vertical payments landscape, it is rare to find a business with such a unique proposition and diversified product suite. Together with Eurazeo, we are excited to help Planet realise its full potential and accelerate its ambitious growth strategy,” Jeff Paduch, managing partner of Advent, said.

“Six years ago, we saw the potential in Planet to become a world-class payments business delivering innovative products and digital services across multiple vertical sectors,” Marc Frappier, Eurazeo managing partner, added. “Since then, we have been delighted with Planet’s strategic direction and growth trajectory.”

Jonathan Keane is a freelance business and technology journalist based in Dublin

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