Sage Group Regulatory News (SGE)

Disposal of Sage Pay

18 November 2019

Further to the announcement made on 9 September 2019, The Sage Group plc ("Sage") has now entered into an agreement for the sale of its Sage Pay business to Elavon, a leading global payments company and wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp. 

Sage Pay is a leading provider of payment gateway services in the United Kingdom and Ireland and the divested business will remain an important payments partner for Sage after completion.

For the year ended 30 September 2018 Sage Pay had revenue of £41m and operating profit of £15m. The total sale consideration is approximately £232m, payable in cash on completion (subject to a customary debt and working capital adjustment). Sage expects to report a statutory profit on disposal of approximately £180m on completion.

Completion of the transaction is subject to Elavon obtaining regulatory approval by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the United States as well as the Central Bank of Ireland, and is expected to occur in Q2 FY20.

Steve Hare, Sage's CEO commented:

"Our vision of becoming a great SaaS company for customers and colleagues alike means we will continue to focus on serving small and medium sized customers with subscription software solutions for Accounting & Financials and People & Payroll. Payments and banking services remain an integral part of Sage's value proposition and we will deliver them through our growing network of partnerships, including Elavon." 

Enquiries

The Sage Group plc +44 (0) 191 294 3897

Lauren Wholley, VP, Investor Relations

Rebecca Potgieter, Corporate Communications Director

Derk Bleeker, Chief Corporate Development Officer

FTI Consulting +44 (0) 20 3727 1000

Charles Palmer

Dwight Burden

About Sage

Sage is a global market leader for technology that helps small and medium businesses perform at their best. Sage is trusted by millions of customers worldwide to deliver the best cloud technology and support, with our partners, to manage finances, operations, and people. We believe in doing everything we can to help people be the best they can be, so the combined efforts of 13,000 Sage colleagues working with businesses and communities make a real difference to the world.

Sage. Perform at your Best.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, with 74,000 employees and $488 billion in assets as of September 30, 2019, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. The Minneapolis-based bank blends its relationship teams, branches and ATM network with mobile and online tools that allow customers to bank how, when and where they prefer. U.S. Bank is committed to serving its millions of retail, business, wealth management, payment, commercial and corporate, and investment services customers across the country and around the world as a trusted financial partner, a commitment recognized by the Ethisphere Institute naming the bank a 2019 World's Most Ethical Company. Visit U.S. Bank at usbank.com or follow on social media to stay up to date with company news. 

About Elavon

Elavon is a leading global payments company with more than 4,300 employees and operations in 10 countries. A subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), Elavon provides businesses with the technology needed to accept payments from customers, whether they are shopping in stores, at home or on the go. Its platform is distinctive in that it is common across countries, making it easier for businesses to get their payment system up and running quickly and securely.

Elavon Financial Services DAC, trading as Elavon Merchant Services, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Prudential Regulation Authority and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Details about the extent of our authorization and regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request.

Rothschild & Co is acting as Lead Financial Advisor to Sage on this transaction. Allen & Overy LLP is acting as legal advisor. Sage has also received financial and corporate broking advice from Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets Limited.