The Federal Trade Commission has cleared WEX Inc.’s previously announced acquisition of competitor Electronic Funds Source LLC for nearly $1.5 billion, which would be the South Portland payment-processing company’s largest acquisition to date.

WEX said in October that it had signed an agreement to buy the Nashville, Tennessee-based company for about $1.1 billion in cash and 4 million shares of common stock. WEX stock was valued at $92.11 per share when the market closed on the day the agreement was signed, bringing the total value of the planned acquisition to $1.47 billion.

In a news release issued Friday, WEX said that given the timing of the deal’s close, the company does not expect the transaction will affect its anticipated financial performance for the remainder of the year. WEX said it plans to provide additional details on “deal synergies” when the company reports its second-quarter earnings in August.

WEX, one of the area’s largest employers with about 700 of its 2,000 workers in Maine, has been on a buying spree over the past two years as it expands into payment processing markets for the health care and tourism industries. Company officials say the deal expands market share, creates efficiencies and provides a more diverse customer base, but some analysts say WEX’s reliance on debt for acquisitions could hamper its ability to weather adverse conditions.

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