Stock Market

Australia’s Westpac is Working with JP Morgan to buy Tyro Payments

According to the Australian Financial Review, Australian lender Westpac Banking (NYSE: WBK) Corp has hired investment bankers from JP Morgan to assist it in its bid to acquire payment terminals company Tyro Payments Ltd.

The report said that Westpac was “one of a handful” of banks considering a buyout offer and looking into the possible benefits of integrating Tyro into their larger banking operations.

The report said that Australia’s top two banks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) and National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY), have also thought about making a bid for the payments platform company, but they haven’t hired a lawyer yet.

More than a month ago, Sydney-based Tyro turned down a buyout offer of A$1.27 per share from a group led by private equity firm Potentia Capital, calling it “highly opportunistic.”

At the end of the day, Tyro shares were worth 8.7% more, or A$1.56, but they have lost almost half of their value so far this year. At the end of trading on Monday, the market value of Tyro was A$807.6 million ($503.78 million).

Reuters asked both Westpac and Tyro for a comment, but neither company answered right away. The Australian office of JP Morgan also didn’t answer right away.

(1 dollar equals 1.6031 Australian dollars).

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