The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 0.6% today to 6,928 points.
These are some of the highlights from the ASX, including a major acquisition by one ASX share:
EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)
The EML share price went up by 5.25% today after announcing the acquisition of Sentenial, including the open banking product, Nuapay, for an upfront enterprise value of €70 million, as well as an earn-out component of up to €40 million.
Sentenial is a leading European open banking and account to account payments provider, utilsing a cloud-native, API-first, full stack enterprise grade payment platform.
EML said that combining the two businesses' platforms and capabilities is an opportunity to deepen customer relationships, enter new industry verticals and diversify the revenue streams.
Management said that Sentenial has an attractive customer base across banking, corporate and software industries, including four of the top seven banks in the UK and some of the largest merchant acquirers in Europe.
EML explained that Sentenial has a highly scalable platform that has had continual investment to future proof the business and allow for agile developments and rapid growth. It plans to export it globally, with plans to expand into Australia and North America.
The company is expecting to process more than $90 million of annual gross debit volume (GDV) after the acquisition.
EML's managing director and CEO Tom Cregan said:
EML has transitioned over the years from primarily a gift card company to a company with a diverse revenue base across multiple prepaid products. The acquisition of Sentenial will be the next evolution for EML, as we transition into a broader payments business by adding instant account to account (open banking) payments into our suite of solutions for current and prospective customers.
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)
The Zip share price was one of the worst performers in the ASX 200 today.
It fell by around 4% after yesterday's sizeable rise of the share price.
Vgi Partners Ltd (ASX: VGI)
VGI Partners announced the appointment of a new CEO today. Jonathan Howie has been chosen to be the new boss.
Mr Howie most recently worked as the Asia Pacific head of index equity at BlackRock Investment Management in Hong Kong. Before that, he was the head of iShares Australia from 2011 to 2018.
VGI Partners' executive Chair Robert Luciano said:
We are delighted to have Jonathan join VGI at such an important time in our company's growth. Jonathan is well suited to take our company strategy forward, with the skills and experience needed to drive long-term value for all our shareholders.
Jonathan's appointment is part of our focus to further build out VGI's investor relations, operational risk and management capabilities.
This will allow VGI to further enhance our existing capabilities and continue to grow the business while ensuring the senior investment team and I remain focused on managing the global and Asian portfolios.
The VGI Partners share price fell 1.5% today.
Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ)
The Alliance Aviation Services share price fell 1% despite announcing a material contract renewal.
It has extended its BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) Western Australian Iron Ore (WAIO) air charter services contract for a further two years.
Alliance CEO Lee Schofield said:
Alliance is delighted to be continuing the provision of these charter services into the Pilbara. Our commitment to safety and providing our clients with industry leading on time performance has played a significant role in being awarded this extension.
