12/18/2017
Boston and San Francisco – Parthenon Capital Partners (“Parthenon Capital”), a leading growth-oriented private equity firm, announced that its portfolio company Cayan has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by TSYS (NYSE: TSS) in a cash transaction valued at $1.05 billion.
Cayan is an industry leader in developing and delivering award-winning and innovative payment processing solutions and merchant account services to developers and ISVs. Cayan provides seamless and scalable solutions to more than 70,000 merchants and 100+ integrated partners. Following the acquisition, Cayan will continue to be led by its founder and CEO Henry Helgeson.
“Parthenon has had an amazing impact on our business,” said Helgeson. “Their experienced operating team, value-added capabilities, deep payment industry expertise and trusted advice was integral to our success. On behalf of the entire Cayan team, I would like to thank Parthenon for believing in us, our vision, and playing a vital role in the success of our business over the last five years.”
“We are thrilled we had the opportunity to partner with Henry and the entire Cayan team,” said Brian Golson, co-CEO at Parthenon Capital. “Quite simply, Cayan has revolutionized retail point of sale payments. We are grateful to have been a partner in their success over the last five years. We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to Jack Lavin, whose leadership and experience on Cayan’s board of managers was highly valuable. And a special thanks to Steve McLaughlin and the FT Partners team who advised Cayan on our way in and on its exit, as their thought leadership and experience were critical to this success.”
Zach Sadek, partner at Parthenon Capital, added, “On behalf of the Parthenon team, we want to thank Henry for his tireless efforts and leadership during our partnership. When we partnered with Henry over five years ago, we set out to achieve a vision of transforming the business into the leading integrated payments business focused on unified commerce and the point of sale. We achieved that lofty vision due to the dedication of the incredibly talented team at Cayan who successfully integrated eight acquisitions and built a world-class research and development center in Belfast all while achieving exceptional top-line growth. “
“We wish the Cayan team great success in their new roles at TSYS and look forward to working with Henry as a Board member of other Parthenon Capital portfolio companies,” concluded Brian Golson.
Parthenon Capital Partners has completed five payments related investments since its original investment in Cayan in 2012 and expects to continue to invest in leading payments companies with a focus on the intersection of payments and software.
Cayan was advised in the transaction by FT Partners and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
About Parthenon Capital Partners
Parthenon Capital Partners is a leading mid-market private equity firm based in Boston and San Francisco. Parthenon utilizes niche industry expertise and a deep execution team to invest in growth companies in service industries. Parthenon seeks to be an active and aligned partner to management, either through recapitalization transactions or by backing new executives. Parthenon has particular expertise in business services, financial and insurance services and healthcare, but seeks any service, technology or delivery business with a strong value proposition and proprietary know-how. Parthenon’s investment team has deep experience in corporate strategy, capital markets and operations, enabling the firm to pursue complex, multi-faceted value creation opportunities. For more information, visit www.parthenoncapital.com.