The Montreal-based firm is paying US$123 million in cash and issuing new shares for the balance for the Providence-based company, whose technology is used by 7,000 food-service locations in the U.S. The transaction also triggered a change in Lightspeed’s share structure, converting CEO Dax Dasilva’s multiple-voting shares into regular single-vote shares. (The Logic) 

Talking point: Upserve is the second mega-acquisition Lightspeed has announced in as many months; in November, it said it was buying the more store-focused ShopKeep for US$440 million. Combined, the deals maintain Lightspeed’s balance of restaurant and retail clientele (46 per cent and 54 per cent of locations, respectively, per the firm’s investor presentation) and  increase its North American presence (now 58 per cent), following a recent growth and acquisition push in Europe and other international markets. “Upserve is one of the company’s biggest competitors in the U.S. hospitality market, so we view this is a major land grab play,” wrote Eight Capital analyst Suthan Sukumar in a note to investors, adding that the smaller firm has a higher-value client base to which Lightspeed can sell its payments service. The company’s stock was up 10.40 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange in late Wednesday trading, a record high that made Dasilva Canada’s newest billionaire.