Atos Origin, a leading international information technology services company, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Banksys and Bank Card Company (BCC) from Fortis, Dexia, KBC, ING and other Belgian banks, following European Competition Authorities's approval of the deal on September 29th 2006.
Within the context of Sepa, the process of European standardisation in payment systems, the acquisition of Banksys and BCC by Atos Origin, through its subsidiary Atos Worldline, creates an entity with a strong expertise in the European payment market and represents a critical milestone in the accelerating consolidation of the European landscape in payment services.
Highlights of the deal:
- Creating a European leader in payment services with combined pro forma 2006 revenues of EUR 630 million.
- A combined workforce of 4,200 staff with extensive experience in payment operations in Germany, France and Belgium, and a presence in United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.
- Multi-year contracts guaranteeing revenue with the major banks in Belgium.
- Consolidation of volumes to better absorb Sepa investments.
The combination will deliver substantial development synergies and will be able to respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by Sepa. The selling banks will remain customers of the new group for the processing of their credit and debit transactions and for related services.
The combined activities will be part of and trade as Atos Worldline, an Atos Origin company dedicated to electronic payment services, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and e-services (internet, voice and mobile services). With more than 30 years of experience in payment activities, Atos Worldline intends to participate actively in the post-Sepa consolidation of the European payment services market thanks to its original positioning across the on-line value chain.