Under the terms of the transaction, Barclays will acquire approximately 197,000 credit card accounts and gross assets of approximately EUR234m (as at 31 December 2009), of which substantially all relate to receivables.
Barclays intends to integrate the business and its employees into its existing Barclays Italy business, which is part of global retail and commercial banking – Western Europe division. Over time, Barclays intends to rebrand the acquired credit cards with its global Barclaycard brand.
Reportedly, Barclays is focusing on northern Italy, Spain and Portugal for business expansion. The UK-based bank bought Citi’s credit card business in Portugal in 2009. In Italy the bank has expanded with more than 200 branches and had even entered into negotiations to acquire blocks of branches being sold by domestic banks.
Leo Salom, CEO of Barclays global retail and commercial banking in Western Europe, said: “This acquisition provides Barclays with the perfect opportunity to grow and develop further our cards business in Italy. The deal will create significant scale for continued growth and development.”
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including competition clearance and completion of the mandatory consultation procedure with Unions. This is expected to occur in Q1 2010.
