William “Bill” Foley’s shell company, Foley Trasimene Acquisition II (NYSE:BFT), created a lot of excitement on Wall Street with the announcement that it was planning a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with integrated payments platform Paysafe. Still, not everyone was convinced that they should own BFT stock.
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For one thing, there was an obstacle ahead as the shareholders still needed to approve the merger.
Besides, not everybody is aware of Foley’s track record as a businessman. Nor is everyone clear on why Paysafe would be a good company to invest in.
Hopefully, today we can clear up some of the confusion surrounding Foley Trasimene Acquisition II’s value proposition, which I believe is now more compelling than ever.
A Closer Look at BFT Stock
Back on Jan. 5, 2021, I heartily recommended taking a long position in BFT stock. At that time, the share price was $14.80.
Soon afterward, on Jan. 21, the stock price shot up to a 52-week high of $19.57. I’ll be the first to admit that I was lucky with the timing of my bullish call.
Perhaps it was inevitable that BFT stock would cool off after such a quick vertical move. Thus, the share price immediately started to decline after the Jan. 21 peak.
At the close of the markets on March 26, the share price settled at $14.55. So, the stock pretty much went nowhere since I made that bullish prediction in January.
I can understand why that might be frustrating to investors. Yet, a deeper dive into Foley’s track record and what’s been going on with Paysafe lately might help to encourage the shareholders.
The Merger Is Approved
Before the intention to merge with Paysafe was revealed, pretty much the only reason to own BFT stock was because you believed in Foley’s business acumen.
Foley’s first SPAC, CF Corp., turned out to be a major success story. That company’s merger with Fidelity & Guaranty Life was valued at $2.24 billion.
Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) ended up buying out Fidelity & Guaranty Life for a whopping $3.25 billion. Meanwhile, Foley is said to have earned an approximate $138 million return, or an astounding 515%, on his investment in CF Corp.
Moreover, Foley is a majority owner of the Las Vegas Knights National Hockey League team. So, it’s well established that Foley knows a thing or two about successful businesses.
But as I alluded to earlier, there was still an obstacle to be cleared with Foley Trasimene Acquisition II. Namely, the proposed merger with Paysafe would need to be approved by the shareholders.
Fortunately, in a special stockholders meeting, the shareholders did approve the merger. This event cleared the way for the business combination to occur on March 30.
Coinbase Collab
Now that the merger has been approved, the newly combined company will operate under the name Paysafe.
And, it is expected that the stock will begin trading on March 31 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “PSFE.”
That’s already a reason for the stakeholders to celebrate. But there’s even more good news: a strategic partnership is afoot.
Reportedly, Paysafe’s digital wallet, known as Skrill, is collaborating with cryptocurrency platform Coinbase to expand into the United States.
Through this partnership, Skrill’s users should be able to trade numerous digital assets in 37 states and territories.
According to Skrill CEO Lorenzo Pellegrino, teaming up with Coinbase will enable Skrill to better meet the needs of its user base “with a best-in-class digital wallet.”
I tend to agree with Pellegrino’s assessment. The Coinbase collab should enhance Skrill’s (and therefore Paysafe’s) value to the users and stakeholders.
The Bottom Line
Foley’s track record is impressive, and as expected, the merger with Paysafe is a done deal.
Furthermore, Paysafe’s partnership with Coinbase will only solidify the already strong bull thesis for BFT/PSFE stock.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finom Group, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.