Periscope Equity announced a strategic investment in Amusement Connect, a Kansas City-based specialty payments platform focused on the amusement industry. The deal marks the first platform investment from Periscope Equity’s third fund, which closed last year.
Founded in 2017 by industry veteran Frank Licausi and automotive executive and engineer John Tarpley, Amusement Connect provides cashless payment technology for family entertainment centers, arcades, bowling centers, skating rinks, bar-cades, restaurants, and route operators. The company currently serves more than 800 customers across over 3,000 locations nationwide.
Amusement Connect’s platform combines modern hardware with a cloud-native software suite that includes game card readers, kiosks, point-of-sale systems, redemption management, analytics, and mobile payment capabilities. The company is also gaining traction with MobileMech, a low-cost mobile payment device designed to bring digital payments to legacy coin-operated machines and unattended venues.
Periscope Equity said the investment aligns closely with its focus on founder-led, tech-enabled businesses that provide mission-critical services to customers. The private equity firm plans to support Amusement Connect through expanded product development, enhanced sales and marketing initiatives, and international market expansion efforts.
Frank Licausi and John Tarpley will continue leading the business as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Customer & Brand Officer, respectively, alongside longtime President Tom Jayroe.
The transaction was facilitated by Bigelow LLC, while Western & Southern Financial Group supported the credit financing associated with the investment.
KEY QUOTES:
“John and Frank have already established Amusement Connect as a trusted leader in payment solutions for the amusement industry nationwide, and we see tremendous global potential. The business checks every box in Periscope’s mandate: founder-led, tech-enabled, mission-critical to its customers, and offers a wide variety of achievable value creation levers. We’re proud to back a company with such a strong reputation for innovation and customer service, and we are excited for the growth ahead.”
Joe McIlhattan, Principal, Periscope Equity
“As a longtime route operator and family entertainment center owner, I saw a clear market opportunity. Route Operators and smaller FECs couldn’t access the technology systems that larger FECs had, resulting in owners leaving revenue on the table and struggling to maximize profitability for their venues. John and I set out to bridge the gap and drive innovation in specialty payment solutions for the entire amusement industry, and we’re excited to say we’ve made an impact. We’re proud of what we’ve created, and we’re thrilled to have Periscope’s support in our next chapter.”
Frank Licausi, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Amusement Connect
“Looking ahead, this partnership is about accelerating what we build for our customers. We have spent the last several years engineering an award-winning cashless platform, from our card readers and kiosks to our cloud-based software and our new MobileMech device. Periscope gives us the resources to push product innovation even further and faster. Our customers will see the benefit in better tools, more features, and the same dependable U.S.-based support they count on every day.”
John Tarpley, Co-Founder and Chief Customer & Brand Officer, Amusement Connect
“I’ve known and partnered with Frank and John for a long time and believe they are incredible industry leaders with a passion for innovation and serving all customers in the space. As a longtime amusement industry leader, I’m excited to team up with Frank and John in this new capacity, as well as the Periscope team, to be a part of the next chapter.”
Mike Maas, Chairman, AMI Entertainment
