Ingenico is to acquire three-year old payment processor Bambora from Nordic Capital for $1.5 billion, adding fuel to an increasingly hot industry sector for M&A activity.
Based on a platform carve-out from one of the large Nordic banks, Bambora currently claims 110,000 customers and processes transaction to a value of EUR55 billion per year, of which more then 70% are online and mobile.
The company, which employs 700 staff across 70 markets internationally, gained 15,000 new customers during the first six months of 2017, with annual revenue amounting to EUR202 million in 2016.
The acquisition by Ingenico comes after a failed bid by the French group to acquire the assets of Worldpay - itself the subject of renewed M&A activity just 15 months after floating on the stock market. Rival Nordic payments processor Nets is also being courted by potential suitors who view the sector as a strong bet for fast growth as consumers increasingly switch from cash to plastic cards and online payments.
“Anticipating the future evolutions of commerce, Ingenico Group has, in recent years, been pursuing a strategy of expanding its offering towards integrated payment services," says Philippe Lazare chairman and CEO. "The acquisition of Bambora represents a key milestone in our strategic plan providing a more integrated client offering and omni-channel solutions. It will enhance our customer centric approach and will reinforce our online and in-store positioning through a perfect complementarity"