Banco Sabadell has sold 80% of Paycomet, its payments subsidiary, to the Italian bank Nexi for 280 million euros, and will maintain a stake in the remaining 20% for at least three years, a period after which it may sell its part. In a communication to the CNMV, Sabadell has reported that this sale is part of a ten-year, extendable strategic agreement with Nexi.
The total amount of the transactions, adding the 20% that will continue for the moment in the hands of Sabadell, “has been set at 350 million euros, expandable depending on the achievement of objectives.” Last September, the financial entity already announced that it was “in the process of analyzing a possible strategic agreement with a specialist industrial partner” in the payments business.
The transaction announced this Monday is subject to “the corresponding necessary approvals” and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of this year. The operation “will generate a positive impact on Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ‘Fully Loaded’ capital of 14 basis points” at the time of closing, details the group, and “it is expected to contribute positively to the income statement as since the first year.”
Reactions to the operation
In statements sent together with the press release, the general manager of Banco Sabadell’s Business and Network Banking, Carlos Ventura, said: “This agreement incorporates economies of scale and greater cost efficiency to our proposal, as well as better quality in technological solutions and specialization, all to continue improving the service to our customers”.
The CEO of Nexi, Polo Bertoluzzo, has been “very proud” of this alliance with the Catalan financial institution, which is “the best possible Spanish strategic partner.” “With this agreement we enter with a strong position in Spain, a market that we have always considered very attractive for digital payments due to its great potential for profitable and sustainable growth in the long term, in a very similar way to Italy”, he explained. .
