Germany's Wirecard reportedly joins bidding for Worldpay

German payments processor Wirecard AG has reportedly joined the bidding for UK rival Worldpay, which is owned by Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital.

Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying the company is competing against private-equity bidders, including a joint proposal from Blackstone Group and Hellman & Friedman, as Worldpay also prepares for a possible initial public offering.

Wirecard’s offer values Worldpay at about £6bn, or 17 times its projected earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation next year, according to Bloomberg.

It said no final decision has been made and several potential buyers are still in the running. Advent and Bain may also choose to proceed with IPO plans and not sell the company and a decision may be announced as early as next month.

Advent and Bain Capital bought Worldpay from Royal Bank of Scotland in 2010 for £1.7bn.