** Australia-listed shares of SmartPay Holdings SMP.AX rise 5.1% to A$0.82, hitting their highest since Oct. 14
** Bell Porter upgrades payment services provider's rating to "buy" from "hold", raises price target to A$1.33 from A$0.68
** SmartPay on Monday received buyout offers, with one from Australia-based Tyro Payments TYR.AX valuing co at NZ$241.1 million ($140.44 million)
** Brokerage expects greater level of strategic interest in SmartPay as co looks for NZ expansion and transformation
** Co's New Zealand-listed shares SPY.NZ up as much as 4.7% at NZ$0.89, highest since Oct. 15
** SmartPay's ASX shares up 57.7% YTD, including current session's moves
($1 = 1.7167 New Zealand dollars)
(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru)
((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com))
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