Creation of a New World-Class Leader in Payment Services as Worldline Set to Acquire Ingenico

Worldline and Ingenico Group announced that their respective Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a business combination agreement. This transaction would combine two premier companies to create the world’s number four player in payment services with circa 20,000 employees in approximately 50 countries. Upon closing, the new combined group would offer best-in-class payment services to nearly 1 million merchants and 1,200 financial institutions.

Gilles Grapinet, Worldline’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am proud to announce that today is a great day for Worldline and Ingenico, and more widely for our Payment industry: Together we create the European World-Class leader in digital payments.

I am convinced that the combination of our respective remarkable talents pools, joint capabilities, and state-of-the-art offers will procure our combined company an outstanding value proposition to pursue an exceptional growth benefitting to all our clients, banks and merchants alike and all our business partners.”

Bernard Bourigeaud, Ingenico’s Chairman of the Board of Directors said: “The combination of Worldline and Ingenico offers a unique opportunity to create the undisputed European champion in payments on par with the largest international players. This transaction comes at the time of accelerating consolidation of the industry and I am convinced that the joined forces of both leaders will deeply transform the industry.”

Nicolas Huss, Ingenico’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “In a fast-moving global payment market in which scale matters, the combination of Ingenico with Worldline is completely aligned with our strategic vision. Our companies’ complementarities will allow us to build a unique European leader with a worldwide reach, providing high value-added offerings to our customers and partners. The combined entity will benefit from increased access to new strategic opportunities, markets, expertise and solutions in an industry that is consolidating rapidly. I fully believe this is an alliance that will set the new Group on a path of accelerated growth, with long term benefits for clients, talents, and shareholders.”

Established in 1980 and headquartered in Paris, Ingenico is one of the main global payment services providers. In addition to a historical global number 1 market position as payment terminal manufacturer, with an estimated market share of 37% of the global payment terminal market and over 30 million terminals installed worldwide, Ingenico has built one of the strongest European merchant services business with c. 1.4 billion net revenue and one of the best in class online offer through notably the successive acquisitions of Easycash, Ogone, Global Collect, and Bambora. Lately, the remarkable strategic partnership concluded with the German savings banks and the PAYONE joint-venture has established Ingenico as a leader of the German commercial acquiring market.

Today, Ingenico provides to more than 550,000 merchants directly, a comprehensive portfolio of payment solutions beyond payment terminals including in-store and online payment processing and the management of more than 300 payment methods. Ingenico has operations in 170 countries and employs around 8,000 employees.

The business combination agreement is an industry-defining transaction and a major transformational move for Worldline. Worldline would:

• Consolidate its existing position within the European payments landscape, reaching c. € 300 billion of purchase volume acquired and a c. 20% European market share in Financial Services;
• Become the number 3 online payment acceptance provider in Europe with c. 250,000 e-commerce customers and websites, with acceptance of more than 350 payment methods and connection to more than c. 150 local acquirers; and
• Offer the most extensive value chain coverage, including very strong positions in last generation payment systems such as account-based and instant payment

The transaction would significantly enhance the business profile and positions of Worldline as follows:

• Creation of a global leader in payments serving more than 1 million merchants, 1,200 banks and financial institutions, with enhanced operating leverage and economies of scale;
• A perfect combination of online and in-store merchant services creating a one-stop-shop position for SMEs as well as global merchants;
• Most extensive geographical footprint providing a strong commercial advantage to offer seamless cross-border payment transactions acquiring:
• Exceptional reach in Continental Europe, with notably a new leadership position in Germany, a strong position in the Nordics and enhanced access to French banks and merchants, in addition to Worldline’s historical leadership positions in Benelux, Switzerland, and Austria;
• Expanded global geographical coverage with access to the US market, reinforcement of Worldline’s exposure to merchants in Latin America and Asia-Pacific and expansion in low card penetrated countries;
• Unique market vertical expertise, Ingenico’s strong solutions in Travel, Health, and e-Commerce complementing Worldline’s expertise in Hospitality, Petrol retail, Luxury retail.
• Global leadership position in payment terminals with more than 14 million units shipped per year and a proven track record built over 35 years of innovation and experience, bringing Worldline 1,000 new banking and acquiring relationships worldwide.
• Under a very strong transformation program initiated in 2019 with a new management team and the completion of its carve-out as a standalone organization, Ingenico B&A has already demonstrated increased efficiency and augmented business momentum.
• In order to accelerate its transformation towards PPaaS, a review of the strategic alternatives available to B&A would be undertaken post-closing to secure the long term development perspectives for the business, in the best interest of its customers, employees, and shareholders.
• Strengthened product innovation and investment capabilities with a combined R&D investment in excess of € 300 million.

The increased scale and enhanced company profile would widely benefit the managers and employees of both companies, allowing them to access broader opportunities with more diversified positions as well as new exciting professional challenges.

Find more in-depth information about the agreement here.

About Worldline

Worldline is the European leader in the payment and transactional services industry. With innovation at the core of its DNA, Worldline’s core offerings include pan-European and domestic Commercial Acquiring for physical or online businesses, secured payment transaction processing for banks and financial institutions, as well as transactional services in e-Ticketing and local and central public agencies. Thanks to a presence in 30+ countries, Worldline is the payment partner of choice for merchants, banks, public transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies, delivering cutting-edge digital services. Worldline’s activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline and Mobility & e-Transactional Services. Worldline employs circa 11,000 people worldwide, with estimated pro forma revenue of circa 2.2 billion euros on a yearly basis. worldline.com.

About Ingenico

Ingenico Group has led the payment industry for more than 30 years to become the global leader in seamless payment. We provide smart, trusted and secure solutions to empower commerce across all channels: in-store, online and on mobile.

Today, with our products and services, merchants can accept any means of payment, from credit cards to alternative payment methods, be it in-store, online or on mobile and allow consumers to have a seamless payment experience.