Innova Capital, a private equity firm operating from Poland, has agreed to buy PayPoint Romania from LSE-listed PayPoint plc. The sale is subject to competition and regulatory approvals, as well as other conditions precedent, and therefore completion is anticipated to take place on 31 March 2021.
PayPoint Romania is a market leading consumer payments operator in Romania, collecting over 100 m bill payments for 85 per cent of Romanian utility and telecom providers through a wide network of retail sites. Its payment points are located within 500 meters of 81 per cent of customers. Its services aim to meet the needs of consumers by offering secure, simple and fast payment solutions. Apart from bill-payments, PayPoint Romania offers also mobile top-ups, money transfers and credit/debit card acceptance services.
“We are delighted to acquire a respected market leader in the bill payments segment on the lucrative Romanian market. Supported by easy access to its terminals, effective relationships with retailers and reliable services, the company is a preferred local brand and trusted partner to utilities and service providers. By leveraging our experience and know-how in payment processing and working closely with company management, we want to support PayPoint Romania’s growth and expand its portfolio of services. PayPoint Romania is a perfect base to develop further payment related services which allow clients access to even safer, quicker and easier payments,” says Krzysztof Kulig, Senior Partner at Innova Capital.
Nick Wiles, Chief Executive Officer of PayPoint plc, says: “Consistent with our strategic priorities, we are pleased to have agreed the sale of PayPoint Romania. The Romanian business has been part of the Group for 13 years and I would like to thank the Romanian management team and employees for their contribution to PayPoint over this time. We have decided to sell the Romanian business to focus on our core UK markets and the delivery of our strategic priorities for future growth in these markets. We believe that Innova is the right owner to take the business forward and we wish PayPoint Romania and Innova well for the future. We will update on the sale in due course”.
Over the years of its leading market presence, PayPoint Romania has been able to create a strong ecosystem of retailers, consumers and utility providers built on interactions and benefits for all participants. With consumers attracted by the convenience and accessibility of terminals, retailers become the heart of their neighbourhoods by providing an essential service to their local communities. Service providers, such as PayPoint Romania’s clients, benefit from an outsourced bill payments solution that provides market leading country coverage with a trusted branded network giving access to a broad demographic.
Over the last 5 years, PayPoint Romania established itself as an undisputed leader of the OTC bill payment market in Romania. In the financial year ended 31st March 2020 PayPoint Romania delivered gross revenue of GBP69.7 million, adjusted EBITDA (before non-recurring revenues and costs) of GBP7.3 million and a profit before tax of GBP6.8 million. The gross assets of PayPoint Romania at 31st March 2020 were GBP48.5 million. There are currently over 19.000 PayPoint terminals countrywide in Romania and the company has partnered with over 170 major suppliers of telecom, utilities, transportation, security and financial services.
