Nuvei Corp. stock soared Monday after confirming weekend news reports that the Montreal digital payments processing company, which counts celebrity actor Ryan Reynolds as a shareholder and spokesman, is in talks that could lead to a takeover.
The language in Nuvei’s release suggests a potential deal could see Mr. Fayer, and possibly the two other large multiple voting stockholders, Quebec private equity firm Novacap and pension giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, roll some of their stock in a takeover should one occur. That has happened in other buyouts, including last year’s takeover of Waterloo’s Magnet Forensics by private equity giant Thoma Bravo.
Six others have gone private through takeovers or management buyouts – BBTV Holdings Inc., Dialogue Health Technologies Inc., Farmers Edge Inc., Magnet Forensics Inc., MindBeacon Holdings Inc. and Q4 Inc. A seventh, automotive marketplace provider E Inc., delisted from the TSX. The company maintained its reduced financial targets when it issued results earlier this month, forecasting annual revenue growth of 15 per cent to 20 per cent over the medium term.