Redmond-based church software company Pushpay has entered an agreement to be acquired by an investment firm and a private equity firm for $898 million.
The deal, announced Friday, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023 after a shareholder vote in the first quarter. The proposed buyers are Sixth Street, an investment firm headquartered in San Francisco, and BGH Capital, an Australian private equity firm headquartered in Melbourne.
"Pushpay will continue to focus on serving its customers and achieving its mission of being the preferred provider of mission critical software to the U.S. faith sector," Pushpay CEO Molly Matthews, who took over the role in March 2021 after serving as the company's chief customer officer, said in a release. "The company remains focused on investing in its customer service and product suite to accelerate and continue the growth opportunities the management team identifies for the business."
The firms are paying a little over 75 cents per share to acquire Pushpay, which is listed on New Zealand's stock exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange. According to the release, the per-share purchase price is a 30.1% premium over Pushpay's share price on April 22, before both indexes significantly declined.
Pushpay, founded in 2011, helps churches create apps, manage giving and engage with members. In August 2021, the company moved into the streaming space with the $150 million acquisition of Resi Media. According to Pushpay's fiscal year 2022 annual report, the company had 14,508 customers at the end of March, a 31% year-over-year increase. Pushpay says it had 564 employees at the end of March. In addition to its Redmond office, Pushpay has locations in Seattle; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Auckland, New Zealand.
Sixth Street, founded in 2009, says it has more than $60 billion in assets under management and over 400 employees. BGH Capital, meanwhile, was founded in 2017. The firm raised its second fund, worth $2.3 billion, this year.
"Although the board remains confident in the future of Pushpay, the transaction will accelerate a capital return to shareholders and mitigates the risks that would otherwise be involved in delivering the opportunities from executing Pushpay’s strategic plan over time," Graham Shaw, chairman of Pushpay, said in a release. "Accordingly, the board is pleased to unanimously recommend the transaction to shareholders.”
