Paysafe set to go public today via SPAC merger

Paysafe is set to begin trading on U.S. public markets on Tuesday after merging with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Foley Trasimene Acquisition II Corp, according to Bill Foley, who set up the blank-check firm.

Foley, who set up the special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, announced in December that it was targeting Paysafe in a deal valuing the firm at about $9 billion, including debt. In a press release Thursday, Foley Trasimene stated that its stockholders voted in favor of the proposed business combination with Paysafe Group Holdings Limited, and that its completion was expected to occur on Tuesday, March 30.

“Paysafe … is ubiquitous. It’s just everywhere in terms of the gaming world and digital wallets, e-cash solutions,” Bill Foley said in an interview with CNBC on Monday. “We’ll actually go public tomorrow as we start trading on the New York Stock Exchange.” He is the chairman of Fidelity National Financial and the majority owner of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Paysafe, which includes brands such as Income Access, Paysafecard, Skrill and Neteller, is backed by Blackstone and CVC. Companies in the gaming industry, among others, use Paysafe products to handle credit card, cash and direct-debit transactions digitally.

Foley, whose SPAC in August raised $1.47 billion, said the company is making plans to penetrate the domestic gaming market, including brick-and-mortar businesses and helping casinos go cashless. Paysafe’s business is primarily done internationally, he said.

The North American gaming market also presents an opportunity as the company hopes to become the “preeminent i-gaming leader” on the continent. “I’m excited about Paysafe. It’s really a great company,” Foley said. “We’re pretty far along with a couple of different ideas that we’ve been working on concurrently with taking Paysafe public.”