By
Babafemi Adebajo
June 29th, 2023
Paysafe has merged with Billionaire Bill Foley’s SPAC and is set to go public in the United States today, trading on the NYSE.
Online payments company Paysafe will go public today after merging with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Based in London, the payment company is set to go live with trading in the US, giving the American public access to Paysafe stock.
Speaking with CNBC on its Mad Money, billionaire business executive, Bill Foley, revealed that shares would be available on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Foley said yesterday:
“Paysafe…is ubiquitous. It’s just everywhere in terms of the gaming world and digital wallets, e-cash solutions. We’ll actually go public tomorrow as we start trading on the New York Stock Exchange.”
Back in December, Foley had revealed that his SPAC, Foley Trasimene Acquisition II Corp. (NYSE: BFT), was gunning for a Paysafe acquisition. At the time, the billionaire said that the deal would value Paysafe at $9 billion, inclusive of the company’s debt.
Formerly known as Optimal Payments PLC, the Paysafe Group Limited now has several subsidiaries, including Neteller, Skrill, Income Access, and paysafecard. The company handles digital transactions, including cash, direct debit, and credit card payments, and also offers digital wallets and prepaid cards.
Foley has further expressed excitement at the prospects of the merger. In the interview, he said:
“I’m excited about Paysafe. It’s really a great company. We’re pretty far along with a couple of different ideas that we’ve been working on concurrently with taking Paysafe public.”
Foley’s SPAC has big plans for Paysafe. The payment company’s business model supports these plans, which include online payments for other industries. For example, Foley says that the company is interested in the domestic gaming market. If successful, Paysafe will help several casinos and brick-and-mortar businesses with switching to a cashless business model.
The Paysafe SPAC
Although BFT is down 2.84% in the past month, it climbed 5.77% yesterday, piling on Foley’s announcement. Current premarket price shows $15.46 after a slight 0.45% rise. In the past five days, BFT has lost 1.54%, and 2.35 % in three months. Only the YTD trajectory is in green, with an increase of 1.92%.
With the merger, both companies have now become one, Paysafe, and should trade with “PSFE” as the ticker. Its availability in the United States should open up more market opportunities for the business. In addition to that, there is the Coinbase collaboration.
Skrill, one of Paysafe’s subsidiaries, is looking to expand to the US through Coinbase. The company seeks to power digital asset trades in at least 37 states and territories. With this in the works, the value of Paysafe, the merger, and all its endeavors is on the rise and should make the newly-formed company a lot more attractive to investors and the general public.
