WEX,  a provider of corporate payment solutions , announced it will pull out of an agreement to purchase two virtual travel payment providers, Australia-based eNett and UK-based Optal for $1.7 billion because of the “material adverse effects” on their businesses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, those two companies said they intend to “vigorously enforce their contractual rights and to hold WEX to its promises under the purchase agreement. “The two companies claim that the purchase agreement was executed on Jan. 24, after the coronavirus had begun to spread across the globe, “which expressly excludes the effects of a pandemic from the definition of material adverse effect.” During a first-quarter earnings call, WEX CEO Melissa Smith said the decision to pull out was not made lightly, noting that Wex had never before "walked away from a signed deal."