Nexi and Sabadell describe the deal as a long-term strategic partnership.

Italian paytech company Nexi (BIT: NEXI) has acquired an 80% stake in the merchant acquiring business of Banco Sabadell (BME: SAB), the second-largest merchant acquirer in Spain, for €280 million. The transaction reflects an Enterprise Value of 350 €M for 100%. The business is expected to generate an EBITDA of around 30 €M based on 2023 figures, resulting in an implied EV/EBITDA 2023E of ~11.5x.

The deal will provide the acquirer with access to over 380,000 merchants and €48bn in transaction volumes, as well as a strategic partnership with Sabadell in Spain, which will become the exclusive distributor of Nexi’s solutions in the country. (MarketScreener)

The deal is expected to close in Q4 2023.

Nexi CEO Paolo Bertoluzzo said the partnership would enable his company to be “deeply entrenched in the market with a partner that fully shares our ambition to accelerate the development of Spanish digital payments further through product and commercial innovation”.

The acquisition is seen as a positive step for the Milan-based payments fintech as it expands into the Spanish market, given that Spain is the fourth largest Eurozone economy and possesses a sizable payments market with high consumer spending power. However, its card penetration rate is just 38%.

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