WEX to acquire Noventis in strategic move to expand its corporate payments reach

Photo / Peter Van Allen WEX Inc., which plans to move roughly 400 employees by early 2019 into its global headquarters under construction in Portland, announced Monday it plans to buy Noventis Inc., a Houston-based electronic payments network focused on optimizing payment delivery for bills and invoices to commercial entities.

Jay Dearborn, president of corporate payments for WEX Inc.

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By James McCarthy

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) announced Monday it plans to buy Noventis Inc., a Houston-based electronic payments network focused on optimizing payment delivery for bills and invoices to commercial entities.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019 following customary regulatory approvals. Terms of the acquisition were not immediately available.

In a news release, WEX stated that it has had a longstanding relationship with Noventis as “a critical supplier of virtual cards that enable payment transactions through Noventis’ network.“

“This acquisition will expand WEX’s reach as a corporate payments supplier and provide more channels to billing aggregators and financial institutions,” the release stated. “The combined offering will provide a path to additional payments functionality and flexibility to Noventis’ customers, including financial institutions, bill pay processors and accounts payable software providers.”

In a January report on its 2017 fiscal year, Noventis reported record-breaking financials for dollar volume processed, revenue and profitability.

“Fueling the company's growth was the virtual card payment volume processed, which increased to a record $2 billion,” Noventis stated in its news release at that time. “This contributed to a 37% growth in revenue compared to 2016. With the record pace expected to continue in 2018, the company is increasing investment in key areas, such as staffing and expanding its office footprint by 35% in Q1.”

The company has approximately 100 employees.

Noventis said its 2017 achievements were supported by the company's ability “to continuously deliver critical innovations to the fintech market” through technology and the expertise of its employees. Its network of “5,000 financial institutions, processors and aggregators” enabled the company “to deliver electronic payments between the broadest base of businesses and consumers,” Noventis said in the January news release.

Jay Dearborn, WEX’s president of corporate payments, said WEX planned to build upon Noventis’ offerings in the United States, “which will position us to innovate and provide solutions to our partners and customers.”

“The purchase of Noventis is an important element in expanding WEX’s corporate payments business, he said. “This acquisition will complement WEX’s current offerings with new payment delivery capabilities that enhance AP payments and provide seamless delivery of electronic payments.”

WilmerHale LLP and Sidley Austin LLP provided legal counsel to WEX. Raymond James acted as financial advisor to Noventis while Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP provided legal counsel.

About WEX

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), which expects to move into its new global headquarters in Portland in the first quarter of 2019, is a leading provider of payment processing and business solutions across a wide spectrum of sectors, including fleet, travel and health care. WEX operates in more than 10 countries and in more than 20 currencies and has 3,500 employees around the world. WEX fleet cards offer 11.5 million vehicles exceptional payment security and control; purchase volume in its travel and corporate solutions grew to $30.3 billion in 2017; and the WEX Health financial technology platform helps 300,000 employers and more than 25 million consumers better manage health care expenses.