Australian entrepreneur Phil McGriskin has agreed to sell internet payment business Envoy Services to private equity-backed global payments provider WorldPay in a multi-million pound deal.

Australian entrepreneur Phil McGriskin has agreed to sell internet payment business Envoy Services to private equity-backed global payments provider WorldPay in a multi-million pound deal.
 
McGriskin, who moved to London in 1996, founded Envoy in 2006 after quitting a City insurance firm. The company provides international e-commerce merchants with an alternative payment acceptance service. The sale amount has not been disclosed; however, reports have put the price tag at about £70 million.
 
Envoy made a profit of £2 million last year on revenues of £16 million, and several angel investors have backed the business, including Sportingbet founder Mark Blandford.
 
According to an Envoy statement, the London-headquartered business will continue to operate its current business model, and the existing management team will join the senior leadership of WorldPay’s e-commerce business unit.
 
The strategic acquisition is expected to close this month after customary approvals and comes four months after private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital formally completed their acquisition of WorldPay from The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. 
 
McGriskin comments, ‘We are delighted to be joining the WorldPay team and see a unique window of opportunity to create a truly differentiated, market-leading proposition for global merchants.’