Canadian payments software firm Lightspeed explores sale, sources say
Adds stock price change in paragraph 4
By Milana Vinn
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 25 (Reuters) -Lightspeed Commerce LSPD.TO, a Canadian payments software maker with a market value of C$2.8 billion ($2.08 billion), is working with a financial adviser to explore options including a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sale talks come months after the Montreal-based company replaced its CEO Jean Paul Chauvet and brought back founder Dax Dasilva at the helm, as investors raised concerns over the company's plan to prioritize growth over profitability following disappointing quarterly results in February.
Lightspeed has tapped investment bankers at JPMorgan Chase JPM.N to evaluate its options and solicit interest from potential buyers, which could include private equity firms, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential.
The talks are at an early stage and a deal is not guaranteed, the sources said. Lightspeed's U.S.-listed shares jumped as much as 17% on Wednesday after Reuters reported on the sale talks.
Lightspeed and JPMorgan declined to comment.
The company's recent share price performance and Advent International's recent buyout of rival Canadian payments firm Nuvei has prompted Dasilva to stay open to the option of the company being taken private, he told Bloomberg in a March interview.
Lightspeed's stock has lost more than a third of its value since the company went public about five years ago, as weak consumer spending weighed on its performance. Its shares are currently trading at C$18.79, having peaked at C$155 in 2021 when it rode a wave of investor enthusiasm for financial technology providers that thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company's shares tanked later in 2021 after short-seller Spruce Point Capital published a report alleging that the company had inflated its numbers following its initial public offering. Lightspeed denied those allegations at the time.
Since his return to Lightspeed, Dasilva has reversed the earlier CEO's strategy and has made the pursuit of profitability a centerpiece of his strategy to turn around the company's fortunes.
Lightspeed is a provider of payments software that is primarily used by restaurants and other businesses.
($1 = 1.3475 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by Milana Vinn in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Jonathan Oatis
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
