By
Mayowa Adebajo
April 18th, 2024
Payment giant Worldline SA has taken a decision to acquire its rival firm Ingenico in an $8.6 billion deal. The combined firm is expected to become one of the biggest in the industry.
Payment platform Worldline SA in a bid to maintain its stronghold in the now competitive industry is set to acquire a rival firm Ingenico. The amount of the deal is already known. It will be $8.6 billion, which makes it the biggest deal in Europe so far in 2020. The sum is equal to 7.8 billion in euros.
Global Merger
Both companies have been circling each other for years, but the reorganization of Ingenico last year gave Worldline SA the avenue to formally bid for the company. Worldline SA Chief Executive Officer Gilles Grapinet explained that the merger will further position the firm as one of the biggest players in the industry.
The newest merger, which is currently the biggest in Europe so far continues last year’s spate of payments company mergers. That wave included a series of major deals from Fidelity National Information Services, Global Payment Inc. and Fiserv Incorporated.
Worldline and Ingenico: Strategic Partnership
The merger will be beneficial to both firms, as Ingenico announced that its shareholders will receive 123.10 euros a share in cash or a mixture of both shares and cash, which is a 17% upgrade than the stock’s last closing price.
Worldline’s shareholders are not left out, as they are also eligible to 65% of the combined company, while the firm is also willing to buy bonds that are convertible into Ingenico shares.
Market analysts are optimistic about the new merger, Bryan Garnier & Co said in a note:
“The new deal looks positive for Wordline at first glance, giving the company an opportunity to add to its European leadership team and increase its market share.”
Ingenico is one of the leading makers of Android POS machines in Asia. Coinspeaker reported in January 2019 that YAP CHAIN Foundation announced that the company received the exclusive right to distribute and sell APOS A8. It is known as the best selling Android POS made by Ingenico, which is also known as LANDI in China.
The new merger will further boost Worldline’s global domination agenda, while also establishing a diverse payment pattern.
Let us also remind you that it is not the first deal in the payment sector this year. In January, we reported about Visa that had taken a decision to acquire Plaid for over $5 billion. In this context, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects more consolidation in the fintech industry.