Worldline sells NZ unit

Worldline said on April 14 it entered exclusive negotiations to sell its New Zealand payments business to Australia’s Cuscal for an estimated enterprise value of about 17 million euros. (investors.worldline.com) Cuscal said it agreed to acquire 100% of Paymark Limited, which trades as Worldline New Zealand, for A$27 million in cash. The buyer said the deal still needs a mandatory French works council process and New Zealand Overseas Investment Office approval. (cuscal.com) Worldline said its New Zealand unit processes about 70% of in-store transactions in the country, serves all four major acquirers and around 40 issuers, and has been run independently from its core European operations. (investors.worldline.com) Payments processing is the plumbing behind card and electronic purchases: companies connect merchants, banks and networks so a tap or swipe is approved and settled. In New Zealand, Paymark has long been one of the domestic operators at the center of that system. (comcom.govt.nz) Worldline framed the sale as part of a strategy to sharpen its focus on payment activities in Europe, streamline operations and optimize resources. In its February 25 results, the group said its pruning program was near completion after the divestment of its India payments business. (investors.worldline.com, live.euronext.com) That context matters because Worldline’s 2025 figures showed pressure across the group. The company reported 4.5 billion euros in 2025 revenue, down 2.4% organically, and 841 million euros in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. (live.euronext.com) For Cuscal, the purchase adds a New Zealand network to an Australian business that already spans acquiring, real-time payments, card issuing, fraud monitoring and digital wallets. Cuscal said Paymark’s operations are similar to its Australian acquiring and switching business. (cuscal.com, bankingday.com) Cuscal told investors it will fund the A$27 million purchase with a A$15 million institutional placement and a A$12 million drawdown from its existing debt facilities. The company said the acquisition is expected to complete in the second quarter of fiscal year 2027. (sharecafe.com.au) The deal would shift control of a large slice of New Zealand’s in-store payments traffic from a Europe-based processor to an Australia-based infrastructure provider. For Worldline, it is another step away from non-core geographies; for Cuscal, it is a cross-border expansion into a neighboring payments market. (investors.worldline.com, cuscal.com)