First Data is a payment processor from the Baltics region, operating in countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The company presently has about 200 employees and serves the main Baltic banking groups and some banks in the Nordic region.
Some of the services offered by First Data include interbank clearing and switching, issuing processing and associated value added services, ATM management, merchant services for acquiring banks through acquiring processing, including e-commerce capabilities and lease and maintenance of payment terminals.
By acquiring First Data, Worldline opines that it can accelerate revenue growth in its financial processing division from next year onwards.
By combining First Data’s local market relations with its own financial processing product portfolio, Worldline expects to offer instant payments solutions and issuing processing value added services.
First Data's recent penetration in the region beyond the Baltics is also expected to boost acceleration of Worldline’s own expansion in the Nordics.
Worldline general manager Gilles Grapinet said: “The acquisition of First Data Baltics is a significant development for our Group to accelerate the execution of our Pan-European consolidation strategy in Financial Processing services.
"In one transaction, we gain a leading position in the fast-developing countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, we reinforce our group capabilities in the north of Europe and will establish new relationships with numerous prestigious Baltic and Nordic banks."
The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
Image: The acquistion is expected to enable Worldline to offer instant payments solutions. Photo: courtesy of stockimages/Freedigitalphotos.net.
