TransFirst Takes Second Stab At IPO

TransFirst Holdings has filed for an initial public offering, marking the second attempt by the U.S.-based payments processor to bring its shares to the public equity markets.

The IPO lists a “nominal” value of $100 million, but other sources, such as Renaissance Capital, have said that that amount could simply be a “placeholder” for an offering that could raise as much as $200 million when shares actually begin trading.

As Reuters reported Friday (Oct. 16), the company, which is owned by Vista Equity Partners, is looking to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange, with the attendant symbol “TF.” There were no additional details provided on the number of shares to be issued or the expected price of those shares.

TransFirst would, as Reuters noted, be bringing shares to investors just as the U.S. stock market is seeing a slowdown in the general embrace of new issues on the exchanges, with repricing becoming a bit more visible, as private equity firms must accept lower investor appetite for risk (and thus lower prices on initial trading). First Data offers a stark illustration of this new, cautious investing landscape, wherein shares closed below the offer on its first day of trading. As Reuters noted, as many as 11 of 15 initial public offerings have taken their offer prices below initial ranges.

[bctt tweet=”As many as 11 of 15 initial public offerings have taken their offer prices below initial ranges.”]

More than a year ago, in July 2014, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe registered TransFirst for an initial public offering but then sold the company in November of that year to Vista Equity, for a price tag that reportedly fetched $1.5 billion at the time (for a total consideration that included equity and debt).

TransFirst, which has boosted its eCommerce offerings across B2B and B2C, said it had processed about $42 billion in transactions last year across 200,000 merchants.

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