Worldline, which is backed by the Swiss stock exchange operator, is eyeing up an acquisition that would vault the payments firm to the fourth-largest in its field.
The French-based payments firm submitted a binding offer for Ingenico, a smaller rival in the market for payments technology and services, it said on Monday. The acquisition would catapult Worldline to the world's fourth-largest.
Swiss stock exchange operator SIX, which owns 27 percent of Worldline, supports the deal, it said in a statement on Monday. It would hold 17 percent of the combined company, if the deal comes to fruition – and remain the largest investor.
Strategic Swiss Investment
«The planned transaction also shows that the strategic partnership with Worldline that SIX entered in 2018 was without a doubt the right decision,» SIX finance chief Daniel Schmuki said. «Worldline continues to be a very important strategic investment for SIX.»
It sold the payments division to Worldline for about 2.3 billion euros ($2.6 billion) nearly two years ago. SIX subsequently embarked on several technology-based projects, including building a digital exchange (the project has hit several snags).
