Japanese paytech unicorn Opn acquires US firm MerchantE

Japanese paytech unicorn Opn has acquired US end-to-end digital commerce platform MerchantE as it looks to enter the US market and create a global payment solutions firm.

MerchantE snapped up by Opn in deal reportedly worth $400m

In a deal worth approximately $400 million, according to Reuters, Opn’s global footprint now covers seven countries. The US market for embedded finance solutions is expected to double to more than $50 billion by 2026, Opn says.

MerchantE helps medium-sized and enterprise businesses grow by providing them with comprehensive payment processing capabilities needed to facilitate transactions.

Ezra Don Harinsut, Opn’s co-founder and president, says: “Combining our leading position in payments across Southeast Asia and Japan with MerchantE’s robust backend technology will allow us to immediately accelerate our growth by empowering businesses of all sizes with the tools they need to rapidly grow their customer bases.”

The combined firms process more than $19 billion worth of payment volume for more than 20,000 companies across the world including cloud business software platform Oracle NetSuite, e-commerce platform Magento, Southeast Asian e-wallet TrueMoney and Toyota Financial Services.

Opn will remain headquartered in Tokyo, and MerchantE will retain its existing headquarters in Georgia, while continuing to operate under its own brand.

The plan is for both firms to identify opportunities to share technology and best practices, as well as jointly develop new offerings.

“Our acquisition of MerchantE represents a transformative step in Opn’s journey to becoming a truly global digital finance platform,” says Jun Hasegawa, founder and CEO of Opn.