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Private Equity Firm EQT Buying Billtrust For $1.7 Billion

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Shares of payments company Billtrust (US:BTRS)  jumped more than 60% on Wednesday after it said it agreed to sell itself to private equity firm EQT in an all-cash deal worth $1.7 billion.

Private lender Sixth Street provided much of a loan that EQT Private Equity is using to back the purchase, a source aware of the matter said, without specifying the loan’s size.

The company, which went public in 2020 via a special purpose acquisition dal, said EQT has agreed to pay $9.50 a share in cash, marking a 64% premium above the company’s closing share price of $5.77 on Tuesday. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

Private lender Sixth Street and two other firms are providing g the deal’s financing, which shows the trend of alternative Funding sources for private equity deals as traditional banks retreat from riskier deals.

The companies expect the deal to close in next year’s first quarter. Including Wednesday’s gains, the stock is now up more than 18% this year, a period marked by a broad sell-off in many cloud-computing and payment-processing stocks. The Nasdaq Composite is down about 31% in 2022 so far.

“With a 35.4% year-over-year software and payments segment revenue growth and our strongest bookings quarter ever, we are firing on all cylinders at this point,? said Flint Lane, Founder and CEO of Billtrust. “Businesses continue to recognize the value of adopting our accounts receivable and integrated payments solutions to create efficiencies, reduce complexity and accelerate cash flow.”- Billtrust reported second quarter results on xxx.

The company posted a net loss of $15.2 million for the quarter, compared to $10.7 million a year ago.

Total revenue increased 22.5% year-over-year to $49.3 million, versus $40.2 million for the same period in 2021. Software and payments segment revenue increased 35.4% year-over-year to $33.3 million, compared to $24.6 million a year ago.

Gross profit, excluding depreciation and amortization, increased 32.5% year-over-year to $29.5 million, compared to $22.2 million for the same period in 2021, while gross margin excluding depreciation and amortization expanded by 451 basis points to 59.8%, versus 55.3% for the same period in 2021, driven by improved operating leverage and an increasing mix of software and payments segment revenue.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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