GoDaddy buys payments processing startup Poynt for $320 million to boost ecommerce offerings

GoDaddy is back on a buying spree. Early this year, we wrote about the world’s largest domain registrar acquired a competing domain registrar and marketplace, Uniregistry, and its domain portfolio for a reported $196.9 million. Then in September, GoDaddy acquired SkyVerge, the tech startup behind the popular WordPress plugin WooCommerce for an undisclosed amount.

Today, Godaddy announced it has acquired payments processing startup Poynt for $320 million to boost its eCommerce offerings. Under the terms of the agreement, GoDaddy will pay $320 million in cash at closing and $45 million in deferred cash payments subject to certain performance and employment conditions over three years. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Founded in 2013 by Osama Bedier, the San Francisco-based Poynt offers an all-in-one Omni commerce payment solution and software tools for businesses. At its inception, its founding team recognized the lack of smart terminals in the market, so we set about reimagining the ubiquitous payment terminal into a connected, multi-purpose device that runs third-party apps.

In a blog post, Poynt founder and CEO Osama Bedier, said: “I am excited to announce that we have entered into a definitive agreement to join forces with GoDaddy. The last 7 years have been the most amazing adventure for Poynt from its humble living room beginnings to changing an industry of giants. I’m grateful for the support of our investors and advisors, in awe of our team’s accomplishments, appreciative for our pioneering partners and inspired by our small business customers.”

Poynt’s range of patented Android-based smart POS terminals, and PoyntOS powered third-party terminals, deliver advanced in-person capabilities that drive merchant and consumer engagement. Poynt also provides mobile app and web/desktop software for POS, invoicing and virtual terminals. Additionally, Poynt offers a range of payment processing models for small businesses, including integration with 16 different payment processors, featuring the top five US banks, and offers Poynt Payments in the US built in partnership with Elavon/US Bank.

“Commerce is critical to our customers and we continue to invest in building seamlessly intuitive experiences that enable small businesses to sell everywhere,” said GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani. “Poynt accelerates our strategy to provide a complete suite of commerce and payment services to address this critical customer need and focus on a large addressable market opportunity. We’ve built leading e-commerce capabilities that today allow small businesses to easily sell on their sites, across major marketplaces and the most popular social networks, and now we will help make them successful everywhere.”

After the acquisition is complete, Poynt CEO Osama Bedier will join the GoDaddy leadership team reporting to GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani and lead a new Commerce Division dedicated to creating the most intuitive and seamless commerce experiences for small businesses.