Lightyear Capital, a New York-based private equity firm with over US$7 billion in assets under management, has signed an agreement to acquire PayByPhone, a global provider of mobile parking payments, from Corpay (NYSE: CPAY).
For over 25 years, Lightyear Capital has partnered with growing companies in financial services and technology, healthcare, and business services. The firm aims to accelerate growth and build market-leading businesses by working closely with management and leveraging its industry expertise.
PayByPhone is a leading provider of digital parking payments and critical parking management software, serving more than 1,300 clients globally. Lightyear’s investment is intended to drive continued product innovation to meet the needs of its expanding customer base. Under Lightyear’s ownership, PayByPhone will operate as a stand-alone independent business.
Mark Vassallo, Managing Partner at Lightyear Capital, stated, “PayByPhone marks Lightyear’s 18th carveout transaction and eighth investment in vertical software and payments. Our strategy is to partner with strong management teams of growing, attractive companies to enable them to broaden their markets, strengthen their operations, enhance their teams, and create enduring enterprise value. We are genuinely excited about our acquisition of PayByPhone given its reputation as one of the leading global providers of digital parking payments and mission-critical parking management software for municipalities, parking operators and businesses in each core geography it serves. Lightyear believes we are well-positioned to be a value-add partner to PayByPhone.”
Jonny Combe, President and Chief Executive Officer of PayByPhone, commented, “This is an exceptionally exciting opportunity for PayByPhone. Lightyear has extensive experience in fintech and payments, which will provide continuity post the transition from Corpay, aligning perfectly with our long-term strategy to evolve beyond parking into wider mobility payments. We look forward to the next chapter under new ownership and continuing to make investments that are right for our clients not only today but also for the future.”
Michal Petrzela, Partner at Lightyear, added, “Jonny and the PayByPhone management team have built a strong business in a market that has significant greenfield opportunities. We believe the Company is poised for continued growth given its strong established user base, high customer retention rates and product-led technology. We are excited to leverage our extensive expertise in software and payments to accelerate PayByPhone’s growth, both organically and inorganically, while continuing to deliver value to its clients.”
The sale is anticipated to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Combe assured that during this period, clients can expect business as usual. PayByPhone works with over 1,300 cities and operators across the UK, North America, France, Germany, and Switzerland, and its app has been downloaded by more than 110 million drivers worldwide.
