TORONTO and NEW YORK – The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’) and Stella Point Capital (Stella Point) today announced an agreement to acquire First American Payment Systems (First American), a leading North American provider of electronic payment processing services, from private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg.
Teachers’ acquisition of First American was led by its private equity division, Teachers’ Private Capital (TPC), in partnership with Stella Point. The transaction has also been supported by a significant investment from First American’s management team. Closing is expected in August and terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
First American processes over $11 billion annually in credit card, debit card and online payment transactions and provides merchant support services to over 100,000 small- and medium-sized businesses, primarily in the United States and Canada. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, First American was founded in 1990 and currently employs more than 1,100 people.
“First American represents an opportunity to back a strong management team in an industry with very attractive fundamentals and growth prospects. We believe that the company has a solid business model and is well positioned to accelerate its growth while continuing to deliver a high level of service and support to its customers. We look forward to partnering with management and Stella Point to create long-term value,” said Jane Rowe, Senior Vice-President of TPC.
Neil Randel, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer of First American, said, “First American is at an exciting point in the company’s evolution, and we look forward to collaborating with Teachers’ and Stella Point to identify and pursue attractive opportunities to drive our next phase of growth – both through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.”
Adam Godfrey, Managing Partner, Stella Point, said, “First American has an incredibly strong platform, a proven track record in innovative payment solutions, and a sophisticated, talented management team whom we have known for many years. We are thrilled to partner with Teachers’ and the First American team to continue capitalizing on exciting opportunities to strengthen its diversified sales channels.”
About Teachers’
With C$140.8 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2013, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund’s assets and administers the defined benefit pensions of 307,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information, including our annual reports from 2013 and previous years, visit www.otpp.com. Follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo
TPC activities include leading deals on a sole or partnered basis, investing in private equity funds in markets and sectors that it cannot efficiently access directly and co-investing with other like-minded private equity funds. TPC manages a global portfolio valued at approximately $14.8 billion.
About Stella Point
Stella Point Capital is a newly formed New York-based private equity firm focused on industrial, consumer, and business services investments. Founded by Managing Partners Justin Wender and Adam Godfrey, the firm actively seeks investment opportunities throughout North America, working closely with management teams to identify strong market positions and achieve transformational growth. Stella Point’s team has an outstanding track record, with over 75 years of combined investing and operating experience at leading global private equity firms, and its partners have invested over $2 billion of equity capital across more than 35 investments. Stella Point provides unparalleled senior level attention and expertise, seeking to cultivate strong relationships with portfolio companies to generate superior investment returns and significant long-term value. Please visit www.stellapoint.com for additional information.
Contacts:
Teachers’
Deborah Allan
Vice-President, Communications
(416) 730-5347
deborah_allan@otpp.com
Stella Point Capital
Lesley Bogdanow
Sard Verbinnen & Co
(212) 687-8080