Schoenherr Prague has advised EVO Payments International, a world leading integrated payments processor and acquirer for merchants, independent sales organisations, financial institutions, government organisations, and multinational corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, on the creation of a payment card acceptance alliance with Raiffeisenbank in the Czech Republic.

Raiffeisenbank has transferred its existing merchant acquiring business into a new Czech subsidiary of EVO that will closely cooperate with Raiffeisenbank. EVO will make a wide variety of market-leading card acceptance solutions and processing for alternative payment methods available to the bank’s merchant customers, and will support the acquisition of market share. The innovative and secure solutions offered through this partnership will form a stepping stone to strong future cooperation with the bank's clients, and will be developed further and supported business-wise, by the strategic partners.

The transaction closed on 29 February 2016.

"This deal demonstrates the significant role that EVO plays in the global payments market and represents a particularly powerful statement from the market on EVO's pan-European operation out of Germany, and its strong domestic presence as Popular Payments in Spain, eService in Poland, and recently started payment business in Ireland" stated Vladimír Cízek, partner in the Czech Schoenherr office.

Raiffeisenbank provides an extensive range of banking services to both private and corporate clients since 1993. The bank accommodates the needs of its clients via a network of 120 branch offices and client centres while also providing services of specialised mortgage centres, personal, corporate and business advisors. According to the volume of total assets, Raiffeisenbank is the Czech market's fifth largest bank, employing nearly three thousand members of staff.

Vladimír Cízek (partner, Czech Republic; corporate/M&A) and Katarzyna Terlecka (partner, Poland; corporate/M&A) led the team who supported EVO on all legal aspects of the transaction including the legal due diligence exercise, drafting and negotiating of transaction documentation, and EC filing and approval proceedings with the Czech National Bank. The other Schoenherr team members involved in this project consisted of Volker Weiss (partner, Belgium / EU; EU & competition), Daniel Koštál (attorney at law, Czech Republic; corporate/M&A), and Rudolf Bicek (Associate, Czech Republic; Corporate/M&A).

Other legal counsel to EVO was Alston & Bird, and to Raiffeisenbank Havel, Holásek & Partners.