Banco BPM-Iccrea-FSI, binding agreement for the e-money hub
(Teleborsa) – Banco BPM, BCC Iccrea Group and FSI have signed a binding agreement for the establishment of a strategic partnership aimed at the development of a new Italian and independent reality in the digital payments sectorwhich intends to be a point of reference in the fintech landscape with an innovation-oriented approach and the growth of digitization in the country.
Today’s agreement follows the exclusive communicated on July 11th. The goal is to get to closing by the first quarter of 2024. The agreement provides for a lock-up of Banco BPM until 2026 and the usual exit mechanisms for this type of transaction.
The agreement provides for the contribution of Banco BPM’s e-money business to the joint venture, with recognition of one mixed payment in cash and in shares issued by the Pay Holding vehicle, which in turn controls the entire share capital of BCC Pay – which will shortly be rebranded. As a result of the transaction, Pay Holding will be held for approximately 43% by FSI and approximately 28.6% each by Banco BPM and Iccrea Banca.
Following the contribution of Banco BPM’s e-money business, the joint venture will represent the second national operator with a market share of more than 10% in the e-money sector, with approximately 9 million cards, 400,000 POS and approximately €110 billion in intermediated transactions.
The agreement provides for the signing of a multi-year distribution agreement of the company’s services also on the Banco BPM network. According to the provisions, the bank will be able to preserve the current commission margins generated by electronic cards (over 140 million euros of net revenues in 2022, with an increase of 13% compared to 2021).
Banco BPM will receive a immediate payment of 500 million euroswith an upfront cash component of around 200 million euros, to which the deferred price components will be added, for a further maximum of 100 million euros, which could lead to a value of 600 million euros.
At the time of closing, the transaction will have a positive impact on the fully loaded CET1 ratio of Banco BPM estimated at around 32 bps, including the effect of the acquisition of the investment. Also considering any future price integrations, the effect on the fully loaded CET1 ratio could rise up to around 50 bps.