WEX Buys EG Group Fuel Card Biz

After posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings results, commercial payments firm WEX announced plans to acquire the fuel card assets of EG Group, Go Fuel Card.

In a press release on Monday (March 25), WEX said it will acquire Go Fuel Card, the fuel card operations of the European fuel station EG Group. The unit, based in the Netherlands, will broaden WEX’s fleet payments operations across Europe. Go Fuel Card has a presence in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, servicing smaller businesses and large enterprises.

“The addition of the Go Fuel Card business will strengthen our position in Europe by expanding our footprint in attractive markets and broadening our card acceptance through an independent, proprietary card network,” said WEX President of Global Fleet Scott Phillips in a statement. “I am also extremely excited about the opportunity to partner with EG Group to expand our fleet business throughout EG locations in the U.S., Europe and Australia. This is an attractive business that projects further reductions to our sensitivity for retail fuel prices, while providing us a strong pathway for organic growth and value creation over time.”

WEX did not reveal financial details of the takeover, but said it plans to close the acquisition in the second quarter of 2019.

The company released its 2018 Q4 earnings results on Monday (March 25), posting $381.2 million in revenues, a 14.9 percent year-over-year increase. Rising fuel prices contributed $13.5 million in revenues for the company, according to Zacks reports, with WEX now having 10 consecutive quarters of double-digit, top-line growth.

Its fleet solutions unit saw a 15 percent year-over-year increase, the publication said, with the firm processing 139.5 million fuel transactions in the quarter.

M&A is a key component of WEX’s growth strategy. Earlier this year, the company completed its acquisition of corporate bill payment firm Noventis after announcing a deal in October that enables WEX to provide virtual cards for corporate bill payments. The company also recently acquired Discovery Benefits, Inc.