Worldline in talks to sell TSS business to Apollo in €2.3bn deal

The transaction would comprise a €1.7bn upfront payment as well as preferred shares that could reach up to €0.9bn, depending on the future value creation of TSS.

Worldline CEO Gilles Grapinet said: "The TSS business, world leader in its space, has a very promising development potential and is supported by highly talented people under the strong leadership of Matthieu Destot. We trust Apollo can provide TSS with the best assets, expertise and support to ensure the pursuit of its successfully initiated transformation journey towards an ‘as-a-service’ business model, reinforcing further its long-term success.

"This announcement is a major milestone in the execution of Worldline’s strategy after the acquisition of Ingenico and numerous new acquisitions in 2021 in Greece, Italy and Sweden, strengthening its leadership position in payment services. This contemplated transaction, while being fundamentally triggered by the best interest of TSS, will also simplify our group structure, further increase our focus on our core activities and massively deleverage our balance sheet allowing the acceleration of our next strategic developments towards establishing Worldline as a truly global Paytech leader."

The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.