B2B credit and payments provider MSTS has spent more than two decades solving complex business problems for its customers.
Founded in 1978, the Kansas-based company facilitates transactions for customers in over 190 countries and processes over $5 billion in transactions a year. In recent years, MSTS has launched a variety of new offerings for its client base, including Credit as a Service (CaaS) in 2018, which enables companies to power global commerce and gives MSTS’s clients a single, omnichannel solution to boost sales and slash A/R costs.
Last year, the firm also launched an invoicing plugin for corporate buyers using the Magento B2B eCommerce platform that allows sellers to add the InvoiceMe payment option at checkout, authenticating customers and determining the line of credit as the transaction is processed. In June, MSTS announced that it was partnering with eCommerce giant Alibaba to offer Payment Terms, the first-ever trade financing solution embedded directly into a cross-border B2B ecommerce marketplace so buyers can order goods and pay for them up to 60 days after they are shipped.
It’s not surprising that its position in the B2B payments market has made MSTS an acquisition target—and it was just announced that the company is being bought by Corsair Capital, one of the longest-standing private equity firms focused on business and financial services. The deal is for around $350 million in cash, with Corsair paying World Fuel Services Corporation $275 million when the transaction is completed. The firm will also provide $75 million in deferred payments, including $50 million on the condition that MSTS meets certain financial targets through 2022.
MSTS will remain a standalone business so that it can keep growing along with the B2B payments market. President Brandon Spear will continue in his leadership role.
“The B2B payments market continues to shift towards digitization and automated processes, and we see tremendous growth potential for MSTS given the company’s significant sales momentum and customer pipeline, scalable platform with recurring revenue streams, and opportunities to expand both its product offerings and geographical footprint,” said Jeremy Schein, Partner at Corsair Capital.
