Payments & Fintech Acquisitions in Pennsylvania

365 Retail Markets, a portfolio company of Providence Equity Partners, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cantaloupe, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $848 million. The deal will take Cantaloupe private and combines 365's unattended retail technology with Cantaloupe's payments, hardware and software capabilities to expand product offerings, cross-sell opportunities and global reach in unattended retail and foodservice markets.

LoanStar Technologies, a Swarthmore, Pennsylvania–based embedded lending fintech, raised $28 million of growth equity led by Sageview Capital. The round includes investments from Launch CUSO Holdings (Launch Credit Union), TruMark Financial Credit Union, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Monarch Strategic Advisors and others to fund product development, sales and marketing expansion, and strategic partnerships.

Milestone Partners, a private equity firm focused on technology-enabled services and financial solutions, has acquired CDE Services LLC, a provider of integrated payment processing and ancillary POS services. The transaction was supported by strategic capital and credit commitments from LO3 Capital, Tecum Capital, and Navigate Capital Partners and is intended to accelerate CDE's product expansion and market share growth in the integrated payments space.

PSG Equity (PSG) has made a strategic growth investment in Versatile Credit, a Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania-based provider of an omnichannel point-of-sale lending platform. PSG partners will join Versatile’s board to support go-to-market expansion, deepen lender relationships, and accelerate growth into new merchant categories; financial terms were not disclosed.

KeyBank has acquired GradFin, a fintech specializing in Public Service Loan Forgiveness counseling and student loan advisory solutions. The acquisition expands KeyBank's digital and niche advisory capabilities, integrating GradFin's high-touch advisory offerings for individuals, financial advisors and employers into Key's product suite.

Chicago-based private equity firm Longshore Capital Partners completed a strategic investment in Stuzo, a Philadelphia-based provider of loyalty, contactless payments, and cross-channel customer experience technology for fuel and convenience retailers. The investment will support Stuzo’s growth and expand its Open Commerce product suite and managed services to help retailers drive wallet share and customer lifetime value; terms were not disclosed.

Fiserv has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Pineapple Payments, a Pittsburgh-based payments technology provider, from growth equity firm PSG. The deal will bring Pineapple into Fiserv's Global Business Solutions division (Partner Solutions unit) to expand Fiserv's delivery of omni-channel payment solutions and broaden distribution to ISVs and SMB merchants; the transaction is expected to close in Q2 2021.

Heartland Payment Systems has acquired ECSI, a Pittsburgh-based provider of payments processing and student loan services for higher education, adding more than 1,800 college and university relationships and retaining ECSI’s ~150+ employees. The acquisition expands Heartland’s Campus Solutions division by integrating ECSI’s payment, loan processing, refund, and campus card services into Heartland’s suite of campus offerings to drive capability and client-base growth in the higher education market.