French payments giant Worldline is boosting its presence in Italy through the acquisition of Banco Desio’s merchant acquiring activities for around EUR100 million.
Worldline is also setting up a commercial partnership with Banco Desio, tapping the Italian bank’s network to distribute payment products and services to merchant customers.
The merchant acquiring portfolio delivers payment solutions to around 15,000 firms, generating about 40 million transactions per year.
The deal builds on Worldline’s acquisition earlier this year of Axepta Italy and the set-up of the Worldline MS Italy joint venture.
Gilles Grapinet, CEO, Worldline, says: “This operation is fully in line with our strategy to further expand our Merchant Services activities towards the South of Europe and in particular in Italy, a highly attractive and strategic market for Worldline”.
