Dive Brief:

• Priority Technology Holdings is expanding into government payments with an $11.5 million deal Wednesday to acquire software developer IntelliPay, which focuses on government payments and several other business verticals, including healthcare and education. The deal also includes Priority Tech potentially paying an additional $3.5 million over two years based on financial targets, the companies said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
• With the acquisition, Priority Technology will add about $4 million in new revenue through the end of 2026 to a newly created business unit, Priority Commerce Government, the company said Wednesday in a press release.
• “Acquiring high-performing partners in our ecosystem is an important part of our strategy to build out key verticals,” Priority Technology CEO Tom Priore said in the release. “Our shared vision for streamlining financial operations in the public sector makes IntelliPay a natural fit as we bring seamless payments and treasury solutions to this critical market.”

Dive Insight:

IntelliPay, based in Draper, Utah, makes software for government agencies, schools and other organizations to accept and manage card and ACH payments, along with billing. It was owned by The Beekman Group, a New York private equity firm, a Priority Tech spokesperson said in an email.

IntelliPay and Priority Technology have been prior business partners, according to the release.

Priority Technology provides payments and banking software to corporate and merchant clients for collecting, storing, lending and sending money in their financial operations.   

In November, Priore sought to acquire the Alpharetta, Georgia-based company he leads, for $6 to $6.15 per share, which valued Priority Technology at $510 million to $520 million. Two shareholders opposed the deal, which has not moved forward.

Priore co-founded Priority Technology in 2005. The company’s shares have declined 33% over the past year, trading Wednesday at $5.63.

“Together, we'll be able to bring our solutions to more customers while continuing to serve the public sector with the reliability and integration capabilities our clients expect,” IntelliPay CEO Casey Leloux said in the press release.

IntelliPay, which was founded in 2004, serves as an independent sales organization for Citizens Bank and Synovus Bank, according to its website. IntelliPay clients include Alameda County, California and Tooele County, Utah.