Worldline Buys Ingenico To Create EU’s Biggest Payments Company

Worldline, one of the world’s largest payments firms, has agreed to buy Ingenico, the French transactions company, for a sum of EUR 7.8 billion. The deal between Worldline and Ingenico, also involves Atos which is owned by Worldline. The three firms will now be coming together to create Europe’s largest payments company, and the fourth largest in the world.

Reports have it that the overall expected equity value of this buyout deal is EUR 7.8 billion (£6.6 billion). Based on that expectation, the deal puts a 16% premium on the existing market capitalisation of Ingenico, which was about EUR 6.7 billion. The deal will also to boost earnings per share in either firm, while saving the new firm up to EUR 250 million by 2024.

This transaction, which is still yet to get the proper regulatory approval, has not come as a shock in the payments sector, and is expected to come to a full close by the third quarter of 2020. By then, Worldline shareholders will own a 65% majority stake in the new firm, and Ingenico shareholders would take away 35%. Current Chairman and CEO of Worldline Gilles Grapinet will become solely the new company’s CEO, as Ingenico’s current Chairman Bernard Bourigeaud becomes the new entity’s non-executive chairman.