Israeli unicorn Rapyd has won a bidding war to acquire European payments firm PayU GPO for $610 million.
In June it was reported that Rapyd was vying with Canadian payments firm Nuvei to take over PayU after it owner, Dutch investment company Prosus, decided to put it up for sale.
Rapyd has made a number of acquisitions in recent years, including Icelandic payments company Valitor in 2021, and Hong Kong-based business incorporation platform Neat in December as it looks to build out the company in preparation for a future IPO.
The takeover of PayU will extend Rapyd's reach across across emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. The combination with PayU will extend Rapyd's Global Payments Network to over 1,200 payment methods in 41 countries.
Commenting on the acquisition, Rapyd CEO and co-Founder Arik Shtilman says the synergies with PayU GPO include a richer technology stack, expanded geographic licensing, and broader market reach.
“Rapyd’s been on a mission to build bold, and our global expansion continues unabated with a nearly 100% year-over-year growth rate in 2023," he says. "Our strategy focusing on both organic growth and acquisitions uniquely positions Rapyd to be one of the largest integrated global fintechs in the world, clearly delivering on our vision of a single, integrated Fintech-as-a-Service platform."
PayU's Indian payment arm , where it serves more than 450,000 merchants and two million credit customers, is excluded from the deal. In June, PayU reported a 31% growth in its India business which brought in US$399m in revenue.