Three Payments Firms for Small Businesses to Sell for $179M

Universal Business Payment Solutions Acquisition (UBPS) has agreed to pay $179 million for three firms that process payments for small businesses.

The Philadelphia firm — an acquisition vehicle that went public last year — plans to pay $104 million in cash, $38 million in common stock and the rest in future considerations of cash and common stock for Electronic Merchant Systems, which handles credit and debt card sales; Jet Pay, which processes card transactions; and the joint payroll-processing and tax-filing firms of A. D. Computer and Payroll Tax Filing Services.

The combined companies generated revenue of $70 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $17 million last year, according to a press release announcing the transaction.

Universal Business raised $72 million in an initial public offering in May 2011. It is a special-purpose acquisition vehicle, or shell company for buying other businesses. Bipin Shah is the chairman and chief executive.

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