Worldline to acquire a 40% stake in Online Payment Platform B.V.

Enrichment of Worldline’s value proposal in the dynamic marketplaces and platforms vertical

Paris, La Défense, September 29, 2022 – Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a global leader in payment services, announces an agreement for the acquisition of a 40% stake in Online Payment Platform B.V., an online Payment Service Provider with a dedicated payment solution for marketplaces and platforms.

Marketplaces and platforms: a fast growing e-commerce market

Transactions through marketplaces and platforms make up approximately one third of the European e-commerce volumes and are expected to increase to more than half in 2025.

Business and consumer habits across the globe have undoubtedly evolved during the Covid-19 pandemic. From accelerating e-commerce trends and the transition from cash to digital payments, to encouraging innovative companies and disruptive entrepreneurs to launch new platforms, whilst existing retailers were stimulated to create their own marketplaces.

Traditionally, the majority of e-commerce transactions take place on B2C web shops where payments are supported by a few global PSPs. The dynamics of marketplace and platform payments however require expertise that differs from the traditional e-commerce market. Such skills involve dealing with large quantities of merchants with a relatively low volume of sales, and the handling of escrow payments with dispute and mediation management even between consumers for marketplaces that cover as well C2C (ie Consumer to Consumer) business.
 

Online Payment Platform (OPP), a Dutch online PSP focused on e-commerce marketplaces

Founded in 2011, Online Payment Platform (OPP) is a Dutch online PSP co-led by its founder Richard Straver, and Maurice Jongmans, CEO. The company focuses on digital payments for marketplaces and platforms with a specific focus in the C2C segment. With a team of over 60 employees they offer their services in the entire European Union and the UK, passporting their Dutch PI licence which they obtained in 2014. OPP serves over a hundred marketplaces and platforms, such as e-Bay Kleinanzeigen, Marktplaats (both part of Adevinta), Gumtree, Royal FloraHolland and PayPal. OPP has a strong expertise in customer support for marketplaces, including fast merchant onboarding and dispute management.

In this rapidly changing industry, OPP is perfectly positioned to comprehensively target the C2C marketplaces’ need to outsource their payment requirements and to focus on significant growth opportunities in the B2B and B2C marketplaces segments.
 

Richard Straver, founder of OPP, stated: “We are proud to join forces with the European leader in payments, Worldline. We can leverage each other’s strengths to improve the service offering to OPP’s client base, and roll it out to new geographies for new clients. Our team is delighted to join the Worldline family and embark on this incredibly exciting next growth chapter.”

Strategic rationale

OPP was looking for a global strategic partner to accelerate its growth and to expand within Worldline core European markets to be able to quickly capture the fast growing market opportunity of marketplaces and platforms. Worldline, being a global payments leader, fits that profile perfectly.

The transaction enriches the growth profile of Worldline, and enables synergy for both parties involved through Worldline’s sale infrastructure. This transaction is perfectly in line with Worldline’s strategic roadmap as it expands its exposure into e-commerce and brings a proven technological brick with a unique solution built from the ground up.
 

Marc-Henri Desportes, Deputy CEO of Worldline, stated: “I am very happy to announce today that we’ve signed an agreement for this strategic investment in OPP. This enables Worldline to get access to the exciting growth market of digital marketplaces and platforms via OPP’s European footprint and market leading scalable technology, as we continue to establish Worldline as a truly global paytech leader.”

Key items of the transaction

• Worldline to buy a 40% minority stake in OPP in 2022
• The remaining 60% owned by both the founder and the CEO of OPP
• Expected closing by the end of 2022
• Call option to buy the remaining 60% in 2026

The completion of the transaction is subject to approval from the Dutch Central Bank. The remaining terms of the transaction will not be disclosed, in accordance with the agreement.

Forthcoming event

• October 25, 2022       Q3 2022 revenue

Contacts

Investor Relations

Laurent Marie
+33 7 84 50 18 90
laurent.marie@worldline.com

Benoit d’Amécourt
+33 6 75 51 41 47
benoit.damecourt@worldline.com
 

Communication

Sandrine van der Ghinst
+32 499 585 380
sandrine.vanderghinst@worldline.com

Hélène Carlander
+33 7 72 25 96 04
helene.carlander@worldline.com

About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is a global leader in the payments industry and the technology partner of choice for merchants, banks and acquirers. Powered by 20,000 employees in more than 50 countries, Worldline provides its clients with sustainable, trusted and innovative solutions fostering their growth. Services offered by Worldline include instore and online commercial acquiring, highly secure payment transaction processing and numerous digital services. In 2021 Worldline generated a proforma revenue close to 4 billion euros. worldline.com

Worldline’s corporate purpose (“raison d’être”) is to design and operate leading digital payment and transactional solutions that enable sustainable economic growth and reinforce trust and security in our societies. Worldline makes them environmentally friendly, widely accessible, and supports social transformation.

Disclaimer

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 Worldline’s beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Worldline’s 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 2021 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) on April 25, 2022 under the filling number: D.22-0342 and its Amendment filed on July 29, 2022 under the filling number: D. 21-0342-A01.

Revenue organic growth and Operating Margin before Depreciation and Amortization (OMDA) improvement are presented at constant scope and exchange rate. OMDA is presented as defined in the 2021 Universal Registration Document. All amounts are presented in € million without decimal. This may in certain circumstances lead to non-material differences between the sum of the figures and the subtotals that appear in the tables. 2022 objectives are expressed at constant scope and exchange rates and according to Group’s accounting standards.

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