Stone Enters Business Combination Agreement With Linx

SÃO PAULO, Brazil, Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StoneCo Ltd. (Nasdaq: STNE) (“Stone” or the “Company”), a leading provider of financial technology solutions that empower merchants to conduct commerce seamlessly across multiple channels, today announces that it has signed a definitive agreement for STNE Participações S.A., a controlled company of Stone that holds the software investments business of the Stone group in Brazil, to merge its business with Linx (B3: LINX3; NYSE: LINX), a leading provider of retail management software in Brazil.

Overview of Linx

Linx is a leading technology company that develops and provides affordable, easy-to-use, reliable and integrated software solutions to over 70,000 retail clients across more than 100,000 storefronts with approximately R$300 billion of gross transaction volume (GTV), through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model. The company is a leading player in the retail management software market and has a strong presence in e-commerce software solutions in Brazil. It serves its clients through an end-to-end platform comprised of three product lines, including:

• Linx Core – which provides integrated business management software, such as ERP and POS management solutions, across various industry verticals including auto parts stores, clothing stores, department stores, electronic goods stores, fast food chains, gas stations, home improvement stores, household appliances stores, pharmacies, service retail, and vehicle dealerships.
  
  
• Linx Digital – which provides an e-commerce platform designed to improve the omnichannel shopping experience, enabling retailers to engage, interact and transact with their clients and manage their inventories across physical stores on an integrated manner, mobile applications, and online channels.
  
  
• Linx Pay Hub – which provides payment processing solutions integrated with its Core and Digital product lines and provides Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) services.

Stone’s Deal Rationale

The business combination of STNE and Linx will help accelerate Stone’s mission of empowering Brazilian merchants of all sizes to manage their businesses more effectively through technology. The acquisition will help advance Stone’s strategic roadmap and create shareholder value by:  

1. Providing Linx’s 70,000 clients with access to Stone’s best-in-class solutions, including our payments technology, financial services and customer support capabilities through a more convenient and powerful integrated solution.