Nets Sells its Account-to-Account Payment Business to Mastercard for 2.85b Euro

Nets, a European PayTech company and Mastercard announced that Mastercard has entered into agreement to acquire Nets’ account-to-account based services including clearing and instant payment services, and e-billing solutions for €2.85 billion.

The transaction is fully aligned with Nets’ European strategy to focus on its strong and scalable businesses within merchant services (Merchant Services) and processing (Financial & Network Services).

Bo Nilsson, Group CEO of Nets, said:

“Over the past five years, Nets has built a strong account-to-account payments platform with a global growth opportunity. However, to fully unlock its international growth potential beyond Nets’ existing geographical footprint requires the capabilities and resources of an established global leader. With its resources and global reach, Mastercard is uniquely positioned to unlock the potential of Nets’ account-to-account business. The transaction increases our flexibility to play an active role in our sector’s consolidation. It also allows us to expand our leading position as a one-stop payment shop for merchants and a strong provider of processing services for banks across Europe.”

The addition of Nets technology and teams will complement Mastercard’s existing account-to-account capabilities.

Michael Miebach, Chief Product & Innovation Officer of Mastercard, said:

“The global opportunity for real-time payments is accelerating. This deal strengthens our unique position as the one-stop partner for any bank, merchant or government’s payment needs. The combination with existing Mastercard assets such as Vocalink, Transfast, and Transactis delivers real-time payment capabilities, innovation and expertise that are truly differentiated.”

The operations sold to Mastercard represent the majority of Nets’ Corporate Services division and comprise the clearing and instant payment services and the e-billing solutions, including Betalingsservice in Denmark and AvtaleGiro/eFaktura in Norway. Nets’ e-ID and Digitisation services are not part of the transaction and will be retained by Nets as core capabilities.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.