Nexi acquires SIA

Nexi, the biggest payments processor in Italy, has agreed to acquire fintech rival SIA for about 4.6 billion euros. The combined company will be one of Europe’s biggest payments companies.

The deal, all shares, gives Nexi a 70 percent stake in the combined company, which enters Italy’s top 10 of publicly traded businesses. The joint company has an annual revenue of about 1.8 billion euros and a market value of over 15 billion euros.

‘New Italian paytech leader in Europe’

The joint company will remain listed on the Italian stock exchange MTA and will be the new Italian paytech leader in Europe, the press release says. “The new group will cover the entire value chain of digital payments serving all market segments with the most complete and innovative set of solutions: from digital payments acceptance services for small and large merchants to more sophisticated omni-channel and ecommerce solutions.”

The new group will cover the entire value chain of digital payments.

‘It can play a leading role in Europe’

Paolo Bertoluzzo, the CEO of Nexi, thinks the new company will create a company with scale and capabilities to play an increasingly leading role in Italy and the rest of Europe. “I believe that Nexi and SIA people should be proud of this new leading player: a great opportunity for all.”

2 million merchants

In the press release [pdf] it’s stated that the joint company will be the largest group in continent Europe by number of merchants (about 2 million), by number of cards (120 million), by number of acquiring transactions (over 21 billion) and number of cross-border payment transactions.