Canadian payments software firm Lightspeed explores sale, sources say
Adds stock price change in paragraph 4
By Milana Vinn
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 25 (Reuters) -Lightspeed Commerce LSPD.TO, a Canadian payments software maker with a market value of C$2.8 billion ($2.08 billion), is working with a financial adviser to explore options including a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sale talks come months after the Montreal-based company replaced its CEO Jean Paul Chauvet and brought back founder Dax Dasilva at the helm, as investors raised concerns over the company's plan to prioritize growth over profitability following disappointing quarterly results in February.
Lightspeed has tapped investment bankers at JPMorgan Chase JPM.N to evaluate its options and solicit interest from potential buyers, which could include private equity firms, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the discussions are confidential.
The talks are at an early stage and a deal is not guaranteed, the sources said. Lightspeed's U.S.-listed shares jumped as much as 17% on Wednesday after Reuters reported on the sale talks.
Lightspeed and JPMorgan declined to comment.
The company's recent share price performance and Advent International's recent buyout of rival Canadian payments firm Nuvei has prompted Dasilva to stay open to the option of the company being taken private, he told Bloomberg in a March interview.
Lightspeed's stock has lost more than a third of its value since the company went public about five years ago, as weak consumer spending weighed on its performance. Its shares are currently trading at C$18.79, having peaked at C$155 in 2021 when it rode a wave of investor enthusiasm for financial technology providers that thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company's shares tanked later in 2021 after short-seller Spruce Point Capital published a report alleging that the company had inflated its numbers following its initial public offering. Lightspeed denied those allegations at the time.
Since his return to Lightspeed, Dasilva has reversed the earlier CEO's strategy and has made the pursuit of profitability a centerpiece of his strategy to turn around the company's fortunes.
Lightspeed is a provider of payments software that is primarily used by restaurants and other businesses.
($1 = 1.3475 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by Milana Vinn in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Jonathan Oatis
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
