Worldline S.A. completed the acquisition of 51% stake in Merchant acquiring business of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited.
March 31, 2022
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Worldline S.A. (ENXTPA:WLN) agreed to acquire 51% stake in Merchant acquiring business of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited for approximately AUD 490 million on December 14, 2020. The consideration will be paid in cash. 51% of Merchant acquiring business of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited will be controlled by Worldline S.A. and 49% will be controlled by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited as a part of newly created joint venture. As part of the joint venture, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited and Worldline will enter into a long-term strategic alliance under which Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited will exclusively refer new merchants to the joint venture, and the joint venture will exclusively refer merchants to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited for banking products. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited will be the exclusive provider of banking services to the joint venture, including providing certain financing facilities. The joint venture board will comprise of five directors: three appointed by Worldline S.A. and two appointed by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited. Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer to be appointed by Worldline S.A. in a shared approach with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited. A long-term partnership will be signed, with a minority buy-back mechanism through a call option exercisable by Worldline S.A. (10 years after closing). The transaction is subject to regulatory and other approvals and card scheme arrangements. The transaction is expected to close in fourth quarter of 2021. Joel Cox, Kristof De Vulder, Rebecca McMahon, Samantha O'Brien, Simon Uthmeyer, Nicholas Boyle, Tara Alexander, Natalie Caton, Joe Malcolm, David Lyons, Jennifer Whincup, Simon Rimmelzwaan, Jonathan Pham and Kimberley Chee of DLA Piper acted as legal advisors to Worldline in the transaction. Baden Furphy, Nick Baker, Sylvia Tran, Lucy McCullagh, Katherine Gregor, Michelle Park, Chloe Kim and Charlotte Henry of Herbert Smith Freehills acted as a legal advisor to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited.
Worldline S.A. (ENXTPA:WLN) completed the acquisition of 51% stake in Merchant acquiring business of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited on March 31, 2022.
Worldline is one of the world's leading providers of electronic payment and transactional services. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- merchant services (69.7%): this division enables merchants to increase their sales and improve their customers' experience in a secure and trusted environment, with exceptional expertise and pan-European coverage;
- financial services (21.9%): this division, leader in Europe, provides financial data processing and enables financial institutions to deploy transformative technologies, manage risk and fraud, optimize processes and ensure operational excellence;
- mobility & transactional web services (8.4%): this division provides, beyond payment processing, expertise in new markets with secure dematerialization, Internet of Things and electronic ticketing solutions.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (13%), Northern Europe (33.1%), Central and Eastern Europe (23.2%), Southern Europe (20.1%) and other (10.6%).
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