Reverence Capital said to buy Cashnet

Reverence Capital Partners has reportedly won the auction for Cashnet.

Final bids for the payments company were due about two weeks ago, sources have told Buyouts. Private equity dominated the process with firms including GTCR, Marlin Equity and Clearlake Capital vying for the company, people said.

Reverence, of New York, beat out the other parties, Mergermarket is reporting.

Blackboard, a portfolio company of Providence Equity Partners, put Cashnet up for sale in the fall, Buyouts has reported. It was seeking $800 million, Buyouts said. Deutsche Bank advised on the Cashnet process, the story said.

Cashnet provides electronic billing, payments and student payment plan services for more than 700 campuses. The company reaches 5 million students nationally.

It produces about $60 million in Ebitda and was expected to command a low-double-digit multiple, Buyouts said.

The deal would be one of the first for Reverence, a financial-services-focused PE firm, since it closed its $1 billion Fund II. The firm has become more focused on buying control of companies on its own since it raised the pool.

Reverence last month bid for Kestra Financial, a broker-dealer backed by Stone Point Capital. Warburg Pincus ended up buying Kestra in a deal valued at $830 million to $850 million, Buyouts said.

Reverence, Cashnet and Providence could not be reached for comment.

Action Item: Find out more about Cashnet here