OFX Group to Acquire Canadian FX Firm Firma for $69.6M

OFX Group Limited announced on Monday that it has agreed to fully acquire Firma Foreign Exchange Corporation Headquarters in Canada. The two parties have agreed to the amount of CAD 90 million (around $69.65 million), which is nine times Firma’s last reported EBITDA.

Founded in 1998, Firma offers global foreign exchange services to corporate clients. Its primary products include spot and market orders, multi-currency accounts, payments and mass payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term as well as forward contracts.

Additionally, the company has more than 9,600 corporate customers and operates from nine offices across Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

A Strategic Deal

“This is our first major acquisition Acquisition Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant's service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company's shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm's stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company's shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services. Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant's service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company's shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm's stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company's shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services. Read this Term and very much aligned with our strategy of building scale in the Corporate segment and growing the North American region,” said the OFX CEO and Managing Director, Skander Malcolm.

Indeed, the closure of the acquisition will add up to five years of organic growth to OFX’s corporate segment. The merged entity is expected to generate underlying EPS accretion of more than 20 percent in the first year and over 30 percent in the second year.

The acquisition will add significant volume in the trading of USD/CAD and USD/GBP pairs.

Malcolm added: “Firma generates strong earnings from a high-quality customer base and has an excellent service culture, so there is a lot of alignment with OFX. By bringing our business together, we become a much bigger Corporate specialist with a strong revenue base and considerable growth opportunities.”

To fund the acquisition deal, OFX will use an underwritten debt facility and existing cash. Furthermore, the company has detailed that it is planning to repay its debts in less than four years as it is expecting a strong cash flow from the combined entity.

“Our business is continuing to perform well, with the positive trends we drove in the first half continuing into this quarter. With the addition of Firma, we can accelerate that growth by combining our infrastructure and risk culture with their customer base and service excellence, delivering further profitable growth and value accretion for OFX shareholders,” Malcolm said.