Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a European leader in the payments and transactional services industry, today announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of the share capital of Digital River World Payments (DRWP), a leading online global payment service provider from Digital River, Inc., a leading global provider of Commerce-as-a-Service solutions.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, DRWP is a subsidiary of Digital River and employs approximately 120 employees worldwide. With global payment gateway, multi-acquiring and collecting services under one roof and having generated yearly gross revenue of c. 37 million euros in 2016, DRWP delivers comprehensive online payment acceptance and optimization solutions for leading enterprise brands, spanning a variety of industries, including travel, retail, direct selling and digital goods. DRWP’s global platform and large geographical footprint support international payment schemes and currencies across 175 countries, a wide range of local payment brands and methods, and more than 40 acquiring bank connections.

Gilles Grapinet, Worldline CEO said: "With the acquisition of DRWP, we are accelerating the execution of our strategy in Merchant Services and significantly increasing both our internet payment capabilities and our global reach to support international merchants and large retailers. I am extremely happy to welcome within the Worldline Group the very experienced DRWP team. Together, through the power of this combination, we are in a unique position to deliver the next generation of payment services for the digital commerce era. As illustrated today, Worldline continues to work in order to further accelerate its external growth strategy. Based on its current pipeline of diversified potential transactions, Worldline has the ambition to realize several other M&A operations normally before the end of the year and, in doing so, to expand across various new geographies in Continental Europe."

Hayden Reed, DRWP senior vice president and general manager said: "By joining forces with Worldline, DRWP gains a strategic owner with deep expertise in the global payments processing industry, giving us the opportunity to expand our capabilities and further extend our investment in and commitment to operational excellence for the benefit of our clients. Like Digital River, Worldline is committed to the payments business and our enterprise clients. We look forward to the strength and increased differentiation that results from the combination, including expanded service flexibility, continued investment into back-office reconciliation and reporting capabilities, and a shared commitment to helping our clients and acquiring partners continue to expand their online businesses."

Transaction benefits for Worldline and value creation

This acquisition presents an important milestone in the execution of the Worldline Group’s strategy in Merchant Services, as it will significantly expand its geographical reach and capabilities to address global merchants’ needs.

The Worldline Group intends to leverage the experienced and recognized management of DRWP as well as strong complementary technologies and a shared commitment to service between the two companies. The combined product functionality, geographic reach and customer base is expected to deliver the following benefits:

• This combination will leverage DRWP’s product functionalities in the 22 countries where the Worldline Group operates, driving substantial revenue and technological synergies, and will allow Worldline to obtain its first operational positions in Sweden, the U.S. and Brazil. Equally, the development of DRWP will leverage the commercial cooperation framework existing between Worldline and its parent Atos.
• Worldline, and through it Atos, will access a high quality client base, consisting of leading internet merchants and brands. In addition, Digital River, Inc. will continue as an important strategic relationship for DRWP, as the parties will enter into a five-year commercial agreement upon closing.
• Worldline’s clients will benefit from connectivity with numerous acquiring partners worldwide and from a very large range of local and international payment methods through global contract and collection of funds.
• Worldline expects to accelerate revenue growth of its Merchant Services division by combining DRWP’s deep expertise and state of the art platform in online technology solutions to create a distinctive set of solutions and distribution.
• Last, through this transaction, Worldline will significantly accelerate the development roadmap of its SIPS[1] gateway, notably by integrating multi-acquiring and collecting functionalities, and expects material capital expenditure synergies.

The Group will integrate DRWP in Worldline’s Merchant Services Global Business Line.

Timing of the transaction

The transaction is expected to close on or before the end of the third quarter of 2017. The transaction is subject to work councils’ information and consultation processes in Atos and Worldline, as well as regulatory and antitrust authorities’ approvals, and other customary closing conditions.