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Vista Inks $1.2 Billion in Sale of Active Network

Global Payments Inc., a leading worldwide financial technology company, has agreed to acquire the communities and sports division of Active Network, a Dallas-based provider of cloud activity and participant management software. San Francisco-based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners sold the company, which offers its technology to event organizers in the health and fitness space, in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion.

In September 2013, Vista paid $1.05 billion, or $14.50 per share, for Active Network, which went private in May 2011 at $15 per share. Silicon Valley-based Vista will receive $600 million of Global Payments shares along with $600 million in cash. Atlanta, GA-based Global Payments will finance the deal with cash on hand and an existing credit facility. Shares of Global Payments, which trade on the NYSE under the ticker GPN, jumped on the news last Thursday, reflecting an approximate 29.9% gain over the most recent 12-month-period and a 39.5% return year-to-date (YTD).

Active Network, founded in 1999, offers event organizers advanced SaaS technology intended to streamline the administration of activities and events, offer actionable insights and increase both revenue and participation. As part of the deal, Global Payments will enter a strategic partnership with Vista to provide payment technology to its portfolio companies.

“ACTIVE Network aligns perfectly with our technology-enabled, software driven strategy and complements our existing businesses well,” stated Jeff Sloan, Global Payments’ Chief Executive Officer. “With ACTIVE Network, we are adding an enterprise software business operating in two new vertical markets that are highly fragmented and underpenetrated with attractive growth fundamentals.”

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 and should have an immaterial impact on Global Payments’ 2017 adjusted EPS results.