Visa to buy British payments firm Earthport for £198m

Shares in UK company soared by 270 per cent after takeover bid was announced

Payments giant Visa is buying the UK firm for almost £200m (EPA)

Visa has made a £198m takeover bid for British payments company Earthport.

Shares in the firm rocketed by 270 per cent on Thursday after the offer was announced to the London Stock Exchange.

Earthport specialises in cross-border payments, with clients including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Ripple and TransferWise.

The company was founded in 1997 and employs more than 200 people across offices in London, New York, Miami, Dubai and Singapore.

Its chair, Sunil Sabharwal, said the firm saw the offer as an “opportunity for shareholders to realise an immediate and attractive cash value in Earthport”.

The deal values Earthport at a 250 per cent premium to its average share price in the six months to 24 December.

Mr Sabharwal added: “Visa shares our vision of growth and expansion for Earthport and, as such, we believe it is a suitable and appropriate partner for our employees, partners, customers and other stakeholders.”

Amanda Mesler, chief executive of Earthport, said: “Having been appointed as Earthport’s CEO in July, my focus following a full strategic review has been to rapidly implement a transformational growth strategy. Whilst I believe Earthport is well positioned to deliver the potential it has always possessed, the all-cash offer from Visa represents a very attractive and immediate return for our shareholders.”

She added that Visa customers “will benefit from new opportunities arising from being part of a larger group with a shared vision”.