Montreal-based digital payments firm Nuvei Corp. has agreed to acquire New York-based Payoneer Global Inc. in a cash transaction valued at US$2.75 billion. The deal, announced in mid-June 2026, marks Nuvei’s first major acquisition since going private in 2024 and stands as one of the largest deals executed by a private Canadian technology company to date.

Under the terms, Nuvei will pay US$7.40 per share for Payoneer, representing a 10 percent premium over Payoneer’s last closing price and more than 40 percent above its share price from the previous week. The boards of both companies have approved the transaction, which is subject to regulatory and Payoneer shareholder approvals, with completion anticipated by mid-2027.

Payoneer specializes in same-day cross-border payouts, servicing marketplaces such as Amazon and Airbnb, and supports more than 2.4 million customers across 150 markets. Its core business facilitates disbursement of funds to merchants globally. Nuvei, which primarily focuses on “pay-ins” — enabling clients including Microsoft, Virgin Atlantic, and Ticketmaster to accept digital payments — is the larger party by payment volume, processing over US$350 million in payments daily. Over the past four quarters, Payoneer generated US$275.6 million in adjusted operating earnings on revenues of US$1.07 billion.

Nuvei’s founder, chairman, and CEO Philip Fayer emphasized that the two companies’ operations do not overlap. He described the acquisition as a strategic move to broaden Nuvei’s capabilities, total addressable market, and geographic reach through additional licenses. The combined entity is projected to generate approximately US$3 billion in annual revenues and process more than US$500 billion in payment volume each year. Fayer anticipates operating earnings to exceed 30 percent of revenue with annual top-line growth in the mid-teens percentage range.

Nuvei’s acquisition strategy follows its earlier purchase of Japan-based Paywiser Japan Ltd. in January 2025 and its US$1.3 billion acquisition of Paya Holdings Inc. in February 2023. The company went public in 2020 but was taken private in a US$6.3 billion deal led by private equity firm Advent International in 2024. Fayer attributed the decision to go private to “the dysfunction of the public markets toward fintech,” which he said imposed significant costs without adding value. He indicated that Nuvei may consider a return to the public markets around 2030 but is currently focused on execution away from market noise.

The acquisition will be financed with the support of BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets, Barclays, UBS, and Wells Fargo, with expected post-deal debt-to-operating earnings ratio near 5.5 times, in line with lender agreements. Payoneer’s shares have struggled since its mid-2021 public listing via a special purpose acquisition company, often trading below US$6 per share except for a brief rally in early 2025.

Overall, the transaction aims to create a more comprehensive financial technology platform, enabling merchants to manage payments and payouts with enhanced efficiency across a wider set of services and jurisdictions.