Priority Technology Holdings Inc

Priority Technology Holdings announced Monday that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Priore is leading an investor group that will take the company private in a transaction valued at approximately $1.6 billion in enterprise value. The investor group has agreed to purchase every Priority Technology Holdings share it does not currently hold for $8.05 per share in cash, a 65% premium to the company's closing price on Nov. 7, 2025, the last trading day before the group's preliminary acquisition proposal became public, and a 38% premium to the closing price on Sept. 18, 2026, the last trading day before Monday's announcement. A special committee of independent directors unanimously approved the deal after a valuation analysis and arm's-length negotiations that secured a final offer more than 30% above the original proposal, and the full board approved it on the committee's recommendation. The deal is partly financed by equity commitments from funds advised by Searchlight Capital Partners, a global private investment firm with $17 billion in assets under management, and is not subject to any financing conditions. The transaction requires regulatory approvals and approval by holders of a majority of Priority Technology Holdings stock not affiliated with the investor group, is expected to close in the first half of 2027, and will result in the stock being delisted from the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Zacks Investment Research featured Green Dot, Priority Technology, and Movado Group as small-cap stocks with bullish outlooks, each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Green Dot posted a strong double-beat in its latest quarter, with sales growing nearly 18% year-over-year and gross dollar volume reaching $43.2 billion, while its current-year consensus EPS estimate of $1.68 has risen nearly 17% over the past year. Priority Technology saw 11.1% year-over-year sales growth and gross margin expansion of roughly 70 basis points, affirming its full-year guidance, with consensus estimates pointing to 20% EPS growth this fiscal year and 17% in fiscal 2027. Movado Group crushed the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate by more than 430% and posted a 5% sales surprise, with revenue of $142 million climbing over 8% year-over-year and adjusted EPS soaring 300%.