Pbz Card is the leader in the Croatian market with approximately 13 thousand merchants generating a transaction volume of EUR 5 billion from March 2021 to March 2022

by Carlo Longo

The current difficulties are shaking the sails of the national and international economy and finance, but they are not stopping the consolidation and growth actions of Italy’s largest bank. In the last few days Intesa Sanpaolo has announced that it has further strengthened its partnership with Nexi, a leading international merchant acquiring operator, in order to expand the scope of its collaboration also in this promising geographical area.

The new relationship,” reads a note, “will allow the development of the respective activities in Croatia. The agreement, in fact, follows the completion of the transactions that involved the transfer to Nexi of the Intesa Sanpaolo and UBI business units for their respective acquiring activities.

In particular, the agreement provides for the transfer to Nexi of the acquiring business unit of PBZ Card d.o.o., a Croatian subsidiary of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group and part of the International Subsidiary Banks Division. It also envisages the extension of the long-standing exclusive partnership in acquiring, already in place following the previous transactions, in which Nexi remains the exclusive partner of Intesa Sanpaolo and the latter, while maintaining the relationship with its customers, will distribute Nexi’s acquiring services.

Pbz Card is the leader in the Croatian market with approximately 13 thousand merchants who generated a transaction volume of EUR 5 billion from March 2021 to March 2022. In return for the sale of PBZ Card d.o.o.’s acquiring arm, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group will receive a gross consideration of EUR 180 million. Completion of the transaction, expected by the end of the year, is subject to obtaining the usual approvals from the relevant authorities.

The transaction allows Intesa Sanpaolo to adequately enhance the acquiring activity currently carried out internally and ensures a further focus on distribution activities within the International Subsidiary Banks Division; Deloitte Financial Advisory has assisted Intesa Sanpaolo as industrial advisor and for financial due diligence activities. Studio PwC TLS Avvocati e Commercialisti acted as legal, regulatory and tax advisor. Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario acted as sole financial advisor.

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