MADRID, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Sabadell ( SABE.MC ) has chosen Italian payments group Nexi ( NEXII.MI ) as the preferred bidder to buy the Spanish bank’s merchant payments business, two sources with knowledge of the matter said .
Nexi prevailed over rival Worldline ( WLN.PA ) after submitting an offer worth about 400 million euros, one of the sources said.
The merchant payments business is a steady source of income for banks, but advances in technology and intense competition in the sector require heavy investment, leading a growing number of banks to dispose of all or one part of them.
Under the agreement, Sabadell would retain an exclusive right to commercialize loans or carry out financial transactions with customers whose payments are designated to be handled externally.
Detached banking assets such as point-of-sale (POS) businesses are attractive to investors because they carry long-term, profitable contracts with buyers who will continue to provide the outsourced service.
In Spain, Sabadell has a strong presence in payments, accounting for nearly 16.9% of the country’s total POS revenue generated since September.
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Its retailer payments business recorded sales of 47.5 billion euros in 2022 compared to 35.7 billion euros in 2021.
Reporting by Jesus Aguado in Madrid and Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Sandra Maler
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