Westpac has announced that it is in preliminary discussions with Tyro Payments to potentially acquire 100 per cent of the payment company’s issued share capital.
Following earlier media speculation, Westpac confirmed the takeover talks in an ASX announcement on Tuesday, but noted that a transaction was not guaranteed.
“An acquisition would strengthen Westpac’s small business proposition, enabling it to better support customers and grow merchant acquiring, particularly in the hospitality and healthcare sectors,” the bank said.
In its own ASX announcement, Tyro stated that it had received approaches from “several parties expressing interest in a potential change of control transaction”, including Westpac.
The company added that none of the approaches were sufficiently definite or advanced to warrant further disclosure at this time.
“Tyro is engaging in preliminary discussions with selected parties in the context of maximising value for all shareholders,” it said.
“The company notes that these approaches are non-binding and highly conditional in nature, and there is no certainty that a binding offer or a transaction of any kind will eventuate.”
Tyro noted that it will continue to keep the market informed of any material developments in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.
Over 63,700 Australian merchants were partnered with the payments company as of June this year, with Tyro ranking as Australia’s fifth largest merchant acquiring bank by number of terminals in the market behind the big four.
