A key milestone in the execution of Worldline Merchant Services Strategy
Major enhancement of Worldline's value proposition in online payments for Tier 1 global merchants
Very significant extension of Worldline geographical and functional reach, offering local payment experience in key fast-growing markets
Bezons, July 17, 2017. Atos, a global leader in Digital Transformation, today announces that its subsidiary Worldline has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% 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 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.
Transaction benefits for Worldline and value creation
This acquisition presents an important milestone in the execution of the Worldline's strategy in Merchant Services, as it will significantly expand its geographical reach and capabilities to address global merchants' needs.
Worldline 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 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.
- Atos, through Worldline, 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 gateway, notably by integrating multi-acquiring and collecting functionalities, and expects material capital expenditure synergies.
Worldline will integrate DRWP in its 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.
Contacts
Investor Relations:
Gilles Arditti | +33 1 73 26 00 66 | gilles.arditti@atos.net (mailto:gilles.arditti@atos.net)
Worldline Investors Contact:
David Pierre-Kahn | +33 1 34 34 90 66 | david.pierre-kahn@worldline.com (mailto:david.pierre-kahn@worldline.com)
Worldline Press Contact:
Sandrine van der Ghinst | +32 27 27 66 17 | sandrine.vanderghinst@worldline.com (mailto:sandrine.vanderghinst@worldline.com)
About Atos
Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with approximately 100,000 employees in 72 countries and annual revenue of around € 12 billion. The European number one in Big Data, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Digital Workplace, The Group provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across various business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Energy & Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications, and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. www.atos.net (http://www.atos.net/) Follow us on @AtosFR
About Worldline
Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is a European leader in the payments and transactional services industry. Worldline delivers new-generation services, enabling its customers to offer smooth and innovative solutions to the end consumer. Key actor for B2B2C industries, with over 40 years of experience, Worldline supports and contributes to the success of all businesses and administrative services in a perpetually evolving market. Worldline offers a unique and flexible business model built around a global and growing portfolio, thus enabling end-to-end support. Worldline activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Mobility & e-Transactional Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline. Worldline employs more than 8,700 people worldwide, with estimated pro forma revenue of more than € 1.5 billion on a yearly basis. Worldline is an Atos company. www.worldline.com (http://www.worldline.com/)
About Digital River World Payments
Backed by nearly 20 years of experience, Digital River World Payments (DRWP) is a leading provider of global online payment solutions. Powered by a robust ecommerce payments platform, its solutions support payment activities across more than 170 countries and 140 payment methods - covering global card schemes along with locally relevant brands and payment networks. DRWP delivers significant value across the full transaction lifecycle while empowering merchants with a single streamlined user interface. Irrespective of their markets, payment methods, or acquiring bank connections, merchants benefit from consolidated reporting, analytics, and reconciliation as well as complete back-office integration. To learn more about DRWP, visit http://www.drwp.io/ (http://www.drwp.io/).
Disclaimers
This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including references, concerning the Group's expected growth and profitability in the future which may significantly impact the expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market conditions or competitors behaviors. Any forward-looking statements made in this document are statements about Atos' beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Atos' plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described within the 2016 Registration Document filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on March 30, 2017 under the registration number: D.17-0274. Atos does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above except as otherwise required by law. This document does not contain or constitute an offer of Atos' shares for sale or an invitation or inducement to invest in Atos' shares in France, the United States of America or any other jurisdiction.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: ATOS via Globenewswire
