Advent Set to Merge Payment Firms Into $3 Billion Company

Jan-Henrik Förster and Crystal Tse, Bloomberg News

Credit cards are arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Private equity firm Advent International is planning to merge portfolio companies Transaction Services Group and Clearent, which both provide payment services, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

A deal could be announced as early as Thursday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

The combined company will be valued at $3 billion including debt, one of the people said.

Clearent’s Chief Executive Officer Pamela Joseph will serve as executive chairman of the new company while TSG CEO Floris de Kort will serve as CEO, they added. The company will be headquartered in Atlanta and called Xplor Technologies.

Clearent, a U.S.-based credit card processing company, counts small and medium-sized businesses as clients. It provides software for secured payments, business loans and reporting tools.

New Zealand-based TSG, a payment software provider, serves businesses such as insurance, health, fitness as well theme parks with membership models.

Advent invested in the Clearent in 2018 and TSG in 2019, its website shows.