Mastercard, Visa Are Among Firms in Talks to Buy Fintech Pismo

Cristiane Lucchesi, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc. are among the firms negotiating to acquire Pismo, which provides cloud-based payment and banking platforms, said people familiar with the matter.

The Sao Paulo-based company, which is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on a sale, is being valued in the talks at around $1 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the negotiations are private. Those interested include a bank and private equity funds, the people said.

An agreement hasn’t been reached and the talks could still end without one, they added.

Representatives for Pismo, Mastercard, Visa and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Pismo’s investors include SoftBank Latin America Fund, Amazon.com Inc., Falabella Ventures and Redpoint eventures. Itau Unibanco Holding SA and Banco BTG Pactual are among its clients.

Last week, Valor Economico’s website Pipeline, reported Visa had submitted a second offer to acquire Pismo, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Pismo’s platforms allow banks and financial technology companies to rapidly launch products for cards and payments, digital banking, digital wallets and marketplaces.

--With assistance from Jenny Surane and Daniel Cancel.