Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Equens SE, one of the largest payment service providers in Europe, on a strategic business combination with Worldline SA, the European market leader in payment and transactional services.

The strategic transaction will result in the creation of the new pan-European leader in payment services. In addition, Worldline will fully acquire PaySquare, the commercial acquiring subsidiary of Equens. The transaction is subject to works councils’ information and consultation procedures as well as approval and clearance by the regulatory and antitrust authorities.

Equens and Worldline consider the transaction to be a milestone in the consolidation of the European payment services market. Equens, headquartered in Utrecht in the Netherlands, is the leading payment service provider in Europe, based on annual payment transactions of €9.7 billion and additional payments of €5 billion in retail trade and ATM services. During 2014, the company generated revenues of approximately €360 million.

The White & Case team in Germany that advised on the transaction was led by partner Matthias Kasch (Frankfurt) and included counsel Christian Bock (Hamburg), partners Bodo Bender (Frankfurt) and Martin Munz (Hamburg) and local partners Markus Mette  and Justus Herrlinger (both Hamburg). Support was also provided by partner Nathalie Negre-Eveillard (Paris), local partner Muriel Alhadeff (Brussels) and associate Alann Le Guillou (Paris). In addition, the international due diligence team included 40 additional lawyers from the White & Case offices in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Paris and Brussels.