Worldline to buy payments unit of Swiss exchange operator SIX for $2.75 bn
16 May 2018
European business and payments transactional services company Worldline, yesterday struck a deal to buy the payments unit of Swiss exchange operator SIX Group, for $2.75 billion.
Worldline, based in Paris, outbid bidders from the US to clinch the deal.
Under the terms of the deal, SIX will get a 27-per cent stake and two board seats in Worldline.
The transaction, mostly paid in shares with a cash component of €0.28 billion, values SIX Payment Services at an enterprise value of €2.30 billion.
Worldline said that it expects to generate synergies of €110 million by 2022, with 50 per cent being achieved by 2020.
SIX Payment Services (SPS) is the payment services division of SIX and employs around 1,600 people and expects 2019 revenue to be €530 million.
It has a significant direct presence in six countries and is the leader of the DACH region.
With 81 per cent of its turnover in merchant services, SIX Payment Services is one of the largest and most successful non-bank commercial acquirers in Continental Europe, servicing 210.000 merchants both off-line and on-line.
It also has a significant scale in financial services, delivering €100 million revenue from financial processing services to 180 banks and financial institutions, in particular to the Swiss banking community.
“The strategic agreement announced today between Worldline and SIX is of fundamental importance in the European payment industry. I am very honored that Worldline has been selected by SIX, after a very competitive process, as the right partner to join forces with their leading payment business, said Thierry Breton, CEO of Worldline.