Payoneer reaches US$3.3b deal to go public with Betsy Cohen SPAC

[NEW YORK] Payoneer, the online payments firm used by the likes of Airbnb and Amazon.com agreed to go public by merging with a blank-cheque firm led by Betsy Cohen.

The deal with FTAC Olympus Acquisition values Payoneer at US$3.3 billion, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday. The transaction also includes a US$300 million PIPE, or a private investment in public equity.

Founded in New York in 2005, Payoneer said it is profitable and expects to collect US$432 million in revenue in 2021. The firm, which allows e-commerce players to send and receive money around the world, processed more than US$44 billion in payments last year.

"Payoneer is a wonderful example - and I'd be hard pressed to reach for another one that is quite as well advanced - in which the adoption curves of consumers and the capacity of the technology have melded and merged quite so well," Ms Cohen said.

The payments industry has been awash with interest from blank-chequecompanies, which raise money from investors and then aim to merge with a private business. Payoneer's deal follows a similar announcement from Paysafe Group which agreed to go public by merging with a blank-cheque firm led by billionaire Bill Foley.

BLOOMBERG