The rest of the article suggests things might have cooled for...

The rest of the article suggests things might have cooled for now, but talks may restart.

"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. It 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.

EML Payments shares closed at $2.66 on Tuesday, valuing the group’s equity at $995 million. EML Payments offers prepaid payment services in Australia, Europe and North America.

The talks come as a handful of investment banks are known to have been shopping for a private equity or trade suitor to acquire EML Payments.

The tyrekicking has, in part, been sparked by EML Payments’ share price, which is down 54 per cent in the past year. The fall was attributed to sell-off in the fintech sector, and potential regulatory issues that emerged at EML Payments. The Central Bank of Ireland flagged concerns about EML Payments’ anti-money laundering programs, which when first revealed saw its share price almost halve in a single trading session last May.

Short interest has also risen steeply, to be at 9.5 per cent of EML Payments’ shares on issue as at April 6.

Bankers said the situation was indicative of discussions taking place across the market, with private equity and trade suitors talking to bombed out listed companies, particularly in the fintech sector. Already, Sezzle has agreed to be acquired by Zip Co, while Afterpay/Square is also fresh in investors’ minds."