WorldPay acquires Cardsave
CARDSAVE, the Grimsby-based card payment terminals and payment processing services business, has been acquired by global payments provider WorldPay.
The two companies have enjoyed a strategic commercial relationship since Cardsave’s establishment in 1995.
Cardsave serves more than 42,000 merchants and the acquisition will enable WorldPay to improve its service offering to the UK small merchant market.
Cardsave is a buying group dedicated to providing competitive business services to independent retailers.
WorldPay, which was recently bought by private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital from The Royal Bank of Scotland, said the deal would support the continued migration from cash to card payments.
Cardsave will continue to operate its current business model and brand as part of WorldPay and its existing Cardsave management team will continue to manage the business.
Cardsave’s chief executive Clive Kahn will report directly to the chief executive of WorldPay, Ron Kalifa.
Mr Kalifa said: “I am personally delighted with the acquisition of Cardsave as this brings mutual benefits to both companies, complementary sales personnel based upon a shared ethos of service excellence and small business support.
“Cardsave will enable us to fulfil our ambitions to support even more ‘New To Card’ SME businesses in the UK whilst our WorldPay team will continue to support SME businesses who bank with both RBS and NatWest. The acquisition of Cardsave signals our commitment to playing a leading role in better serving the needs of UK merchants.”
Cardsave’s chief executive, Clive Kahn, said: “Cardsave will benefit from becoming part of WorldPay and the opportunities to strengthen our proposition to small UK merchants, particularly with the growing trend from cash to credit and debit card settlement and the demand for card not present services.”
WorldPay operates in more than 40 countries, pioneered online payments for small and medium sized businesses and process millions of online payments every day.
KPMG’s London corporate finance team led the sales process.
Christian Mayo, KPMG’s Leeds head of corporate finance, said: “In a M&A market characterised by trade purchasers proceeding with caution and private equity purchasers taking a sceptical view, high quality companies with talented management teams continue to attract a substantial level of interest which is illustrated by Cardsave’s sale.”
The value of the deal was undisclosed.
