TCV acquires Retail Merchant Services

TCV invested in RMS via its ninth fund, TCV IX. The fund reached a final close in mid-2016 on $2.5bn. It has no minimum investment size and can commit as much as $250m per equity ticket, with the opportunity to selectively go above that size. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the firm has additional offices in New York and London.

As part of the transaction, TCV will acquire a majority stake in RMS and provide additional capital to help finance its growth. RMS's shareholders, including founder Paul Bentham, and the management team reinvested alongside TCV.

TCV general partner John Rosenberg will join the company's board of directors, together with Jim Aviles, former COO of Merchant e-Solutions.

According to a TCV statement, RMS had received no external investment prior to the transaction.

The payments services space has seen considerable appetite from both VC and private equity players in recent months. In January this year, Advent International and Bain Capital Private Equity bought German payment service provider Concardis in a deal valuing the company's equity at €700m, continuing their joint foray into the sector in Europe. Also in January, Anacap Financial Partners acquired a controlling stake in Heidelpay, a German online payment service provider.

Company
Founded in 2007, RMS aims to offer card payment solutions to small businesses, which it claims are often overcharged and under-serviced by banks. Its services include credit and debit card payment machines, online payments and payments over the phone.

Based in Milton Keynes, the business posted an £8m turnover in 2015 with a £340,900 loss before tax, according to the most recent publicly available figures.

People
TCV – John Rosenberg (general partner).

Advisers
Equity – Arma Partners (M&A); Weil Gotshal & Manges (legal).
Company – PwC (M&A); Wilkin Chapman (legal).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Buyouts
• Financials
• UK / Ireland
• United Kingdom
• Fintech