Shift4's $296 million offer for NZX-listed Smartpay "deepens our strategic presence in Australia and New Zealand," CEO Taylor Lauber says.
The US payments processing solutions company is offering $1.20 a share in a scheme of arrangement supported as "compelling value for shareholders" by Smartpay's board.
The offer compares with a 12-month weighted average share price of 82c.
Smartpay has around 40,000 New Zealand and Australian customers.
Shift4, which recorded revenue of $US3.3 billion and net income of $US139 million in the December 2024 year, provides payment processing solutions and business intelligence mainly to customers in North America and Europe.
Its focus to date has been on the restaurant, hospitality, sports and entertainment, and "unified commerce" sectors.
It has expansion plans in South America, Africa and Asia.
In February it paid $US2.5 billion for Global Blue, a platform known mainly for tax-free shopping, as cross-border shopping grows in popularity.
Smartpay shareholders' approval will be sought at a Special Shareholder Meeting in the third quarter of this year.
Shift4's founder Jared Isaacman, a "frequent flyer" in space with Elon Musk's SpaceX, retired from his role as CEO last year.
He was nominated by President Donald Trump as his candidate as the next Administrator of NASA, the space agency's top job, but was dropped earlier this month, allegedly because of his association with Musk.
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