Osborne Clarke has advised Wirecard AG on the acquisition of the relevant assets of Citi’s merchant acquiring business in 11 markets in Asia Pacific (APAC).

The purchase includes a customer portfolio for merchant acquiring services in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, India, Australia and New Zealand, comprising a long-standing and reputable client base of more than 20,000 merchants.

Closing will occur in stages and is expected to be completed by June 2018, subject to customary regulatory approvals and licensing requirements. The projected EBITDA-contribution of the acquired portfolio in its first year of being fully consolidated in Wirecard group is more than EUR 20 million.

An Osborne Clarke team led by partner Dr Björn Hürten advised Wirecard on this transaction. The team also included Efthimios Detsikas, Annette Simon (M&A), Kate Johnson, Clare Burman and Aisling Pringleton (banking and regulatory, London), Dr Matthias Terlau, Dr Daniel Walter, Charlotte Strese, Patrick Smith, Laura Kristine Meliß (banking and capital markets, Germany), Gereon Abendroth, Dr Marc Störing, Tim Alexander Maiorino, Adrian Schneider (IT), Dr Sebastian Hack, Ingo Spahr (antitrust) and Nico Schley (tax). OC also coordinated law firms in several other jurisdictions.

Osborne Clarke advises Wirecard on a regular basis across several jurisdictions, both on the day-to-day business aspects on questions of payment services as well as transactions, including the takeover of Citi Prepaid Card Services, the acquisition of the Brazilian Moip Pagamentos S.A. and the Acquiring Portfolio of Lufthansa Airplus as well as acquisitions in India, South Africa and Turkey.