Wordline - Strategic partnership with Eurobank in Greece
Worldline signs a strategic
partnershipwith Eurobank in merchant acquiring in
Greece
Creation of a joint venture with
Eurobanksupported by long term commercial
partnershipAcquisition of 80%
of Eurobank Merchant Acquiring
activities
A leading
position in the dynamic Greek
marketPortfolio of
123,000 merchants
directly owned
High growth
with synergies
potentialcombining Eurobank Merchant Acquiring
activitieswith Cardlink acceptance
network
Bezons,
December
7, 2021 –
Worldline [Euronext: WLN], European leader in the payments and
transactional services industry, today announced the signing of a
binding agreement for the acquisition of 80% of Eurobank Merchant
Acquiring activities, one of the main acquirers in Greece with a c.
20% market share.
Gilles Grapinet, CEO of
Worldline, said: “I am very proud to announce the
acquisition of Eurobank Merchant Acquiring. This operation is fully
in line with our strategy to further expand our Merchant Services
activities towards the South of Europe and at the same time allows
us to leverage our footprint in Greece that was established earlier
this year through the acquisition of Cardlink. The combination of
both companies will create a meaningful, comprehensive and leading
position in the fast-growing Greek market that is driven by a
steady ongoing adoption of electronic payments. This transaction
offers attractive development opportunities for Worldline in the
coming years, building on our direct access to an existing
merchants portfolio with a full suite of end-to-end payment
solutions.
With Eurobank Merchant Acquiring, Worldline
keeps on building the Europe of payments beyond its existing
borders, with a focus on value-creating consolidation
opportunities, enhancing Worldline scale, reach and direct presence
in a growing number of countries.”
Fokion
Karavias, CEO
of Eurobank, said: “The agreement
we reached with Worldline regarding the cards acquiring business is
fully in line with our strategic plan to focus on our core
activities, while further strengthening our capital base. Our
clients will benefit from a prime customer experience in a secure
transaction environment, provided by a world leader in payment
services with the global reach and the cutting-edge digital
capabilities required in a fast-moving, tech-driven sector.”
Acquisition of Eurobank Merchant
Acquiring, one of the largest acquirers
in Greece
Eurobank is one of the four systemic banks in
Greece relying on a large distribution network of c. 300 branches,
seeking to find the right and exclusive partner to acquire, operate
and develop their merchant acquiring portfolio in Greece. Eurobank
Merchant Acquiring (EBMA) is a meaningful card acquirer in the very
dynamic Greek market with 21% share of transaction volumes
processed in the country. EBMA manages c. 219 million
transactions acquired per year representing a payment volume of
c. € 7 billion from a c. 190,000 POS network. The company
serves a well-diversified and high-quality portfolio of 123,000
merchants of which more than 50% are SMBs in MSV terms.
This acquisition represents an opportunity for
Worldline to strongly expand its Merchant Services activities in
this dynamic Southern European market, still driven by the shift
from cash to card with a significant electronic payments adoption
rate and online and e-commerce development. In parallel, the
exposure to the Greek economy fueled by the travel &
hospitality industry offers added growth opportunities.
As part of the transaction, Worldline will enter
into a long-term commercial partnership with Eurobank aiming to
leverage its strong banking network as a key commercial channel in
order to distribute Worldline’s and EBMA best-in-class payment
product and services to physical and online merchants.
Strategic rationale: a
meaningful opportunity through the combination of
Eurobank Merchant Acquiring activities with Cardlink acceptance
network
In this rapidly changing industry, driven by the
customers’ adoption of numerous and innovative payment methods,
Eurobank Merchant Acquiring is the ideal cornerstone to further
deploy Worldline payment offerings and value-added services
capabilities in the Greek market, combined with the large
acceptance network of Cardlink (acquired in 2021) to offer
end-to-end payment services.
Through this combination, Worldline will provide
a strong end-to-end value proposition to the merchant portfolio,
covering the needs of both SMBs and large retailers, coming on top
of a long-term commercial partnership with the bank fostering
growth opportunities and relying on:
- A large merchant installed base in
Greece;
- Very strong and well-recognized
brand and banking network;
- A state-of-the-art card and
non-card payment technology stack, and;
- A large scale and leading expertise
in the field of merchant acquiring services (from omni-channel POS
to E-commerce acceptance solutions).
The leading position of the combined entity
coupled with Worldline’s best-in-class technology and payment
expertise will allow a double-digit growth rate in revenues for the
entity in the coming years. This accelerated growth rate will be
achieved through POS acceptance deployment, the introduction of
value-added services, and a one-stop-shop offering for
merchants.
As the European leader in payments, Worldline
keeps executing its strategic roadmap with a focus on
value-creative consolidation opportunities to enhance its scale,
reach and direct presence in a growing number of countries in close
partnership with leading local financial institutions.
Furthermore, a robust integration and
development program will be implemented at closing to further
improve profitability rate through operating leverage and costs
efficiency.
Impacts of the transaction on
Worldline
The key financial impacts of the transaction on
Worldline are the following:
- Additional annual revenue of c. €
35 million at closing with expected double-digit organic growth
CAGR over the next 4 years;
- OMDA margin c. 30% expected at
closing, with upside potential fueled by operating leverage and
expected synergies leveraging the combination with Cardlink;
- Estimated cash-out of c. € 256
million at closing (for 80% ownership, based on €320m EV);
- Combined acquisition multiple of
two complementary acquisitions in Greece (Cardlink and Eurobank)
below 19x OMDA 2021 and c.15x OMDA 2021 including run-rate
synergies
- Eurobank to retain a 20% ownership
in EBMA, and;
- Closing expected in Q2 2022,
subjected to satisfaction of customary condition precedent.
Forthcoming
events
- February 22,
2022 FY 2021
results
- April 27,
2022 Q1
2022 revenue
- July 27,
2022 H1
2022 results
- October 25,
2022 Q3 2022
revenue
Contacts
Investor
Relations
Laurent Marie+33 7 84 50 18
90laurent.marie@worldline.com
Benoit d’Amécourt+33 6 75 51 41
47benoit.damecourt@worldline.com
Communication
Sandrine van der Ghinst+32 499 585
380sandrine.vanderghinst@worldline.com
Hélène Carlander+33 7 72 25 96
04helene.carlander@worldline.com
About
WorldlineWorldline [Euronext: WLN] is a European
leader in the payments and transactional services industry and #4
player worldwide. With its global reach and its commitment to
innovation, Worldline is the technology partner of choice for
merchants, banks and third-party acquirers as well as public
transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies
in all sectors. Powered by over 20,000 employees in more than 50
countries, Worldline provides its clients with sustainable, trusted
and secure solutions across the payment value chain, fostering
their business growth wherever they are. Services offered by
Worldline in the areas of Merchant Services; Terminals, Solutions
& Services; Financial Services and Mobility &
e-Transactional Services include domestic and cross-border
commercial acquiring, both in-store and online, highly-secure
payment transaction processing, a broad portfolio of payment
terminals as well as e-ticketing and digital services in the
industrial environment. In 2020 Worldline generated a proforma
revenue of 4.8 billion euros. worldline.com
Worldline’s corporate purpose (“raison d’être”)
is to design and operate leading digital payment and transactional
solutions that enable sustainable economic growth and reinforce
trust and security in our societies. Worldline makes them
environmentally friendly, widely accessible, and supports social
transformation.
Disclaimer
This document contains forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including
references, concerning the Group's expected growth and
profitability in the future which may significantly impact the
expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the
control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market
conditions or competitors’ behaviors. Any forward-looking
statements made in this document are statements about Worldline’s
beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such.
Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to
Worldline’s plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events,
future revenues or
synergies, or performance, and other
information that is not historical information. Actual events or
results may differ from those described in this document due to a
number of risks and uncertainties that are described within the
2020 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorité
des marchés financiers (AMF) on April 13, 2021 under the filling
number: D.21-0303 and its Amendment filed on July 29, 2021 under
the filling number: D. 21-0303-A01.
Revenue organic growth and Operating Margin
before Depreciation and Amortization (OMDA) improvement are
presented at constant scope and exchange rate. OMDA is presented as
defined in the 2020 Universal Registration Document. All amounts
are presented in € million without decimal. This may in certain
circumstances lead to non-material differences between the sum of
the figures and the subtotals that appear in the tables. 2021
objectives are expressed at constant scope and exchange rates and
according to Group’s accounting standards.
Worldline does not undertake, and specifically
disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any
of the information above except as otherwise required by law.
This document is disseminated for information
purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase, or a
solicitation of an offer to sell, any securities in the United
States or any other jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered or
sold in the United States unless they have been registered under
the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities
Act”) or the securities laws of any U.S. state, or are exempt from
registration. The securities that may be offered in any transaction
have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities
Act or the securities laws of any U.S. state and Worldline does not
intend to make a public offering of any such securities in the
United States.
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