Repay Holdings and Thunder Bridge Acquisition Announce Merger

Vertically-integrated payment solutions company Repay Holdings, Repay Holdings’ parent company Hawk Parent Holdings and Thunder Bridge Acquisition announced this week that they have signed a definitive merger agreement. Under this agreement, special purpose acquisition company Thunder Bridge will acquire REPAY for approximately $653 million. Once the deal closes, the combined company will operate as Repay Holdings Corporation and will continue to be publicly listed on the NASDAQ under a new ticker symbol.

Founded in 2006, REPAY stands as a leading provider of payment processing solutions across the U.S. consumer finance industry. Its range of product offerings includes debit and credit cards, electronic bill payment, Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) and instant funding. REPAY processed more than $7 billion in payments in 2018 alone across a diverse range of verticals, including automotive loans, personal loans and receivables management. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, REPAY currently maintains 3,000 customer relationships across its more than 11,000 locations throughout the country.

Much of REPAY’s success is due to its proprietary payment platform that is aimed at reducing complexity for merchants while simultaneously enhancing the experience on the consumer side. With strong adjusted EBITDA growth for the past three years based on market expansion, new client growth, strategic acquisitions and increased business from existing customers, Thunder Bridge’s management believes that REPAY is poised to realize strong growth across their underserved verticals in the coming years.

As noted by Gary Simanson, Thunder Bridge’s president and CEO, “REPAY has achieved impressive growth while also delivering high levels of profitability in an exciting and underpenetrated area of the payments sector.” Managing Director of Corsair Capital Jeremy Schein concurs, stating that “the payments industry is one of the most dynamic segments of the financial services space, and REPAY has established itself as an integrated player and early-mover in an important and underserved sector of the market. Given REPAY's growth and history of pioneering innovative payment solutions, we see compelling opportunities ahead and look forward to our continued partnership with the REPAY management team."

After the merger is complete, REPAY’s management team—consisting of co-founder and CEO John Morris, co-founder and president Shaler Alias, and CFO Tim Murphy—will continue to head the organization. Private equity firm Corsair Capital, REPAY’s current majority equity holding, is anticipated to remain the largest stockholder.