Worldline vows to remain "very active" regarding M&A opportunities
(Reuters) - French payments company Worldline (WLN.PA) said on Tuesday it would remain “very active” in seeking M&A opportunities as it aims to become European industry leader, but did not name any potential targets.
The company reported first-quarter organic revenue up 5.8 percent to 394.1 million euros ($481.91 million), thanks to European banks seizing opportunities to outsource payments.
Worldline’s results were boosted last year by the acquisition of Digital River World Payments, First Data Baltics and MRL PosNet.
M&A has been a popular strategy in the sector as credit card companies and banks look to profit from the shift to electronic and online payments.
Parent company Atos recently failed in a bid to buy chipmaker Gemalto (GTO.AS) and integrate it into Worldline, and media reports have named Worldline as a possible buyer for French rival Ingenico (INGC.PA).
The payments company confirmed its 2018 targets.
($1 = 0.8178 euros)