Priority Technology to go private in $1.6 billion deal
Priority Technology Holdings will go private in a deal valued at $1.6 billion, or $8.05 per share in cash, according to an announcement early Monday. The company’s closing share price was $5.83 on Friday. The transaction, led by chairman and CEO Thomas Priore, marks the end of Priority’s nearly nine-year run as a publicly traded company and is expected to close in the first half of next year.
The offer follows a preliminary, non-binding proposal disclosed in November, when the investor group proposed acquiring shares not already owned at a price between $6 and $6.15 per share. At the time, Priore held roughly 58% of the company’s outstanding common stock. The deal was unanimously approved by a special committee of independent directors, which conducted a review described as “robust” and relied on independent legal and financial advisors.
Priority reported second-quarter revenue of $262.3 million, up 9% year-over-year, with adjusted gross profit rising 8% to $99.9 million. For the first half of the year, revenue grew 10% to $511.8 million, while gross profit increased 11% to $198.7 million.
In recent months, Priority expanded its operations through acquisitions. Last month, it agreed to buy Convenient Payments, which operates as Intellipay, for $11.5 million plus $3.5 million in earn-out payments over eight quarters. The company also secured a deal to process ticket sales for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including stadium branding rights.
Founded in 2005 by brothers Tom and John Priore, the company has actively pursued growth in new markets. In October 2023, it entered the automotive-servicing payments space by acquiring DMSJV LLC, also known as Dealer Merchant Services, which offers surcharging tools for dealers.
The transaction reflects a shift toward consolidation in the payments processing industry, where private deals have become more common as companies seek to streamline operations or avoid market volatility. Priority’s move aligns with similar take-private transactions in the sector, though the scale and timing differ from recent examples where smaller firms opted for privatization to focus on long-term strategy without public-market pressures.
