The saga involving a potential takeover bid for Worldpay has ended after the British payment processor decided to launch an IPO on the London Stock Exchange and looks to raise £890 million.
Worldpay specialises in processing and securing payments for a range of local and international businesses, including Google and Sony.
The company claim to process 31 million payments every day, the equivalent of 360 a second. Profits increased during the first half of the year, rising 13 per cent to £182.6m.
Worldpay will now be expected to pay 20 to 30 per cent of its profits in dividends to its shareholders, with the first instalment taking place in late 2016.
Not for sale
Up until now, there has been much speculation regarding the future of the company.
It was revealed that French payment processor Ingenico tabled a £6.6 billion bid for Worldpay earlier this month, as plans to merge both companies and create a payment giant worth over £11billion began to take shape.
There were also rumours that investment groups Blackstone Group and Hellman & Friedman submitted an offer to Worldpay, but that was never confirmed.
‘Exciting and logical step’
Worldpay’s floating shares will consist of 25 per cent of its outstanding stock. Its decision to trade on the London exchange means that they will enter the FTSE 100.
Phillip Jansen has been chief executive of Worldpay since the company was sold by Royal Bank of Scotland to private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital for £1.7 billion in 2010.
In a statement Jansen explained that Worldpay has invested over £1 billion into its infrastructure, staff and payment technology.
‘‘The IPO is an exciting and logical next step as we seek to continue this momentum. It will enable us to access new capital for growth, augment our global proposition and further enhance our ability to serve customers across the world,’’ said Jansen.
‘‘We are extremely proud of what has been achieved through the dedication and talent of Worldpay’s approximately 4,500 colleagues and are optimistic for the future of the company. This future will be built on our long-held pledge to help our customers prosper and I would reiterate my thanks and ongoing commitment to all our customers during this next chapter for Worldpay.’’
Sir Michael Rake, chairman of Worldpay and former non-executive director of Barclays, feels that the public offering will allow the company to continue its development and leadership within the payments sector.
Worldpay’s decision to rebuff Ingenico has been met with positivity from the French group’s shareholders. In Paris, Ingenico’s shares rose by ten per cent after Worldpay’s announcement.
Whitepapers
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