Shift4 to acquire specialty payments and technology provider Global Blue
Shift4, a leader in integrated payments and commerce technology, and Global Blue, a specialty payments and technology platform enabling tax-free shopping, dynamic currency conversion, and payments solutions to the world’s largest retail brands, have announced that Shift4 has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Global Blue.
Shift4 will acquire Global Blue for $7.50 per common share in cash, representing an 15% premium to Global Blue’s closing share price as of February 14, 2025, and a ~$2.5 billion enterprise value.
With over 40 years of history, Global Blue is a market leader at the intersection of travel and luxury retail across Europe, Asia, and South America. More than 400,000 premium retail and hospitality locations rely on Global Blue’s tax-refund and currency conversion technology, including the world’s most iconic luxury and premium retailers as well as other large retail electronics, sportswear and fast fashion brands.
“This acquisition continues a bold tradition of introducing transformative capabilities to exceptional customers along with a massive embedded cross-sell opportunity,” said Shift4 President Taylor Lauber. “It fits perfectly in the Shift4 playbook: delivering an enormous volume conversion opportunity while unlocking significant new revenue opportunities and capabilities that open entirely new markets for us. Integrating Global Blue into our unified payments platform positions Shift4 as a leading unified commerce payment provider around the world.”
Global Blue’s merchant solutions will be added to Shift4’s global payments platform to deliver an enhanced end-to-end experience for its merchants. The addition of tax refund and currency conversion capabilities enhances Shift4’s position as an innovative vendor and trusted partner. Global Blue is the most comprehensive two-sided network in its category, connecting millions of affluent international shoppers to its merchants and directly engaging with international shoppers through its proprietary app, creating powerful network effects and allowing for further product innovation, such as loyalty, digital marketing, and more.
“Uniting with Shift4 represents the next phase of Global Blue’s growth journey, enhancing our integrated value proposition to our marquee merchants globally,” said Global Blue CEO Jacques Stern. “Most importantly, we’re excited, alongside Shift4, to continue our track-record of innovation to deliver better experiences for all stakeholders in the shopping ecosystem.”
As part of the transaction, Shift4 is also announcing that two current shareholders of Global Blue, Ant International and Tencent, are exploring strategic partnerships with Shift4 and intend to remain shareholders in the combined business. The partnership will build on their existing relationship with Global Blue and explore collaboration with Shift4 on global e-commerce payment products. This will include the distribution of unified gateway service Alipay+, which connects global merchants with 1.6 billion user accounts of over 35 digital payment methods across the world, and Weixin Pay, the most widely used mobile payment service in China, throughout the Shift4 ecosystem, including hospitality and venues. This partnership highlights these shareholders’ confidence in Shift4’s ability to become a global leader in unified commerce solutions for retail merchants.
Tom Farley, Chairman of Global Blue, on behalf of the existing board of directors including representatives of Silver Lake, Partners Group, Certares, and Knighthead, said, “We are pleased to unanimously recommend the transaction, which we believe will deliver significant, immediate and certain value to Global Blue’s shareholders. More broadly, we firmly believe that this transaction is in the best interests of our employees, customers, and stakeholders, ensuring continued growth and innovation under new ownership.”
Transaction Details
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Shift4 intends to acquire Global Blue for $7.50 per common share in cash, representing a 15% premium to Global Blue’s closing share price as of February 14, 2025, through a tender offer and a subsequent statutory squeeze-out merger.
The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of Shift4 and Global Blue. It is expected to close by the third quarter of calendar year 2025, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, other customary closing conditions, and a minimum tender of at least 90% of Global Blue’s issued and outstanding common shares and preferred shares on a combined basis.
Shift4 expects to finance the acquisition with cash on hand and a 364-day $1,795 million bridge loan facility entered in connection with the transaction.
