Mumbai: Digital funds firm BillDesk has entered right into a definitive settlement to amass the India fee companies of French funds agency Worldline, the corporate mentioned in a press release on Tuesday.
This comes practically 10 months after Mint solely reported that Worldline had initiated a course of to discover a possible sale of its India operations as a part of a broader international restructuring.
The corporate had mandated its bankers to judge strategic choices, together with a divestment, amid efforts to exit non-core geographies and enhance profitability following muted international progress and repeated revenue warnings.
Billdesk didn’t disclose the dimensions of the transaction.
The transaction additionally aligns with a broader consolidation wave in India’s fintech sector.
Mint earlier reported, citing Kotak Funding Banking, that fragmented markets and weak profitability are pushing venture-backed fintech companies towards mergers and acquisitions to attain scale and sustainable margins.
BillDesk mentioned the deal will merge its on-line aggregation enterprise with Worldline India’s offline service provider community and financial institution switching infrastructure.
The mixed entity will supply built-in fee providers throughout digital transactions, recurring mandates, cross-border funds, and in-store acceptance by means of point-of-sale terminals and QR-based programs, the corporate mentioned.
The acquisition is predicted to deepen BillDesk’s presence in regional markets and strengthen service provider distribution, significantly amongst mid-sized companies increasing their digital fee adoption.
“This transaction is a forward-looking funding in India’s funds ecosystem,” mentioned M.N. Srinivasu, co-founder of BillDesk, within the assertion, including that the mixing would assist ship a extra related funds expertise for banks, enterprises and retailers.
Mint had earlier reported that an acquisition of this nature might assist the acquirer acquire scale.
The transaction is topic to customary regulatory approvals and shutting circumstances. Regulation agency Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. acted as authorized counsel to BillDesk, whereas EY served as diligence advisor.
International turnaround
Worldline’s new chief govt officer (CEO), Pierre-Antoine Vacheron, mentioned at an earnings name in April that the corporate would exit non-performing geographies and segments to revive progress, with out sharing particulars.
“We should be extra selective, given the funding required to deal with innovation and compliance necessities. This can imply exiting from segments or geographies inherited from previous acquisitions and regarded as non-core,” he mentioned.
Based in 1970, Worldline is a publicly listed options supplier for funds corporations working throughout the globe, together with Europe, India, Japan, and the US.
It launched the turnaround plan in February, specializing in tightening value controls, pruning its portfolio, and emphasizing free money circulate enhancements.
Worldline has additionally appointed banking advisors to promote its Mobility and e-Transactional Providers (MTS) enterprise, Reuters reported in November 2024. In December that 12 months, Reuters reported that the corporate was attracting early-stage takeover curiosity from personal fairness companies, together with Bain Capital. Nonetheless, Bain later denied evaluating Worldline.
The corporate’s erstwhile CEO, Gilles Grapinet, stepped down in September 2024, because it issued its third revenue warning inside a 12 months. Vacheron was later appointed as CEO, from 1 March.
Within the March quarter of 2025, Worldline’s income stood at €1,068 million, down 2.3% year-on-year. It reported muted progress in 2024, with income of €4,632 million, up 0.5% year-on-year in natural phrases, and a internet lack of €297 million. It follows the calendar 12 months because the monetary 12 months.