Globe says Lightspeed signs NDAs with potential buyers sep…
Globe says Lightspeed signs NDAs with potential buyers
2024-09-27 08:18 ET - In the News
The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Sept. 27, edition that Lightspeed Commerce stock rose after news of the company exploring a sale. The Globe's Sean Silcoff and Andrew Willis write that Lightspeed hired JPMorgan to explore options, including potential takeover offers. Potential strategic buyers have signed non-disclosure agreements. Chief executive officer Dax DaSilva said he is open to giving up leadership. The list of potential suitors "is likely broad," National Bank of Canada analyst Richard Tse said in a note, and could include legacy players including Fiserv-owned Clover -- which recently indicated it is open to all options to grow shareholder value including acquisitions -- as well as NCR Voyix, Global Payments and Intuit. Acquisitive publicly traded cloud-software rival Shift4 Payments could be interested, Scotiabank analyst Kevin Krishnaratne said in a note, as well as private-equity-backed payment-processing giant Worldpay Group PLC. He speculated that Lightspeed's larger rival Toast would not be a strong strategic fit given Toast's focus on the hospitality sector, and said its acquisitions typically centre on beefing up its technology or product offerings. Another possible suitor is PayPal Holdings.