Bain Capital checks out EML Payments, bankers chase other buyers

Billion dollar baby EML Payments has been flirting with private equity.

12/04/2022 2:38:00 PM

ShareBillion dollar baby EML Payments has been flirting with a global private equity giant - fuelling expectations that it could get swept up in the wave of global payments M&EML Payments offers prepaid payments cards.SuppliedEML Paymentshas gone a few rounds of takeover talks with Bain Capital, including a period of exclusivity that saw Bain given access to the company’s books.

Sources involved said Bain’s exclusivity agreement ended late last month without an agreed deal. Bain’s understood to have walked away for now, unable to stack up the hefty mooted takeover price after going through the diligence materials.The situation was live as of three weeks ago, sources said, but had fallen flat. The exclusive due diligence followed months of high-level talks between the pair, and their advisers.

Goldman Sachs was in EML Payments’ corner, while Barrenjoey Capital was with Bain.AdvertisementIt remains to be seen whether Bain has a change of heart and returns with a higher offer. Sources said Bain loved the business, its footprint and had invested in similar companies offshore in the past, but couldn’t stack up the mooted price tag which was well above $1 billion. headtopics.com