Financial services firm JP Morgan Chase has closed the acquisition of US-based payment processing platform WePay yesterday, giving an exit to e-commerce firm Rakuten.
JP Morgan Chase will pay just over $300m for WePay, though the price could rise to $400m including retention bonuses and earnouts related to certain targets, sources told TechCrunch.
WePay has built a payment processing tool for online merchants that also includes tools for risk compliance, onboarding and e-commerce support. It will continue to operate independently post-acquisition but will also function as a payments incubator for its new parent company.
Bill Clerico, who will stay on as WePay’s CEO, said: “We see exponential growth ahead of us as we combine our fintech products and culture with the global brand, scale, proficiencies and distribution of Chase.
“We are headed into a massive expansion of our team, with particular focus on engineering and product management, and looking for a new headquarters in the Bay Area to accommodate our planned growth.”
WePay had raised $75m since it was founded in 2008, most recently closing a $40m series D round backed by Rakuten in 2015 that reportedly valued it at $220m.
FTV Capital led the 2015 round, which featured Highland Capital Partners, August Capital, Continental Investors and Ignition Partners. The company’s other shareholders include SV Angel, Y Combinator and angel investors such as Max Levchin and Raymond Tonsing.