Wordline is to acquire the payments service business of Switzerland's SIX Group in a deal which values the cards unit at $2.75 billion.
Under the terms of the transaction, SIX Payment Services will will receive a 27% stake in Worldline, while Atos will retain is majority 51% share in the business.
The transaction is the latest in a series of deals across a rapidly consolidating payments market in Europe, in which large players with a broad product and geographic offering are gaining a competitive edge. SIX, which hired JPMorgan to run the rule over its payments services unit last September, says the combined company will be the largest European provider in the payments industry.
The current management and over 1300 employees of SIX Payment Services in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Poland, as well as other locations in Europe, will become part of Worldline’s organisation when the deal closes in Q4, 2018.
Romeo Lacher, SIX chairman says: "This strategic partnership makes us Europe's leading and largest provider in one go. In the future, in addition to the existing SIX Payment Services offerings, our customers will also benefit from Worldline's innovative solutions along the entire value chain of cashless payment transactions".