Natixis SA’s payments business is exploring a potential takeover of the 4 billion-euro ($4.6 billion) French fintech company Ingenico Group SA, following a string of deals in the sector, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ingenico has held preliminary talks with Natixis Payment Solutions, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are confidential. No final decisions have been made and the company may decide to remain independent, the people said. Other firms have also expressed interest in buying Ingenico, they said.
Ingenico’s American depositary receipts rose as much as 14 percent Wednesday. They were up more than 10 percent to $16.30 at 2:55 p.m. in New York.
Representatives for Ingenico and Natixis Payments declined to comment.
Paris-based Ingenico is one of the few large firms to remain independent in the rapidly consolidating payments industry in Europe. In one of the most notable transactions in recent months, Atos SE’s Worldline agreed to buy SIX Group AG’s payments business for about 2.3 billion euros in May following a months-long bidding war for the Swiss asset. Natixis also submitted a bid for that asset, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
Private equity firms flush with cash have been weighing a takeover of Ingenico, people familiar with the matter said in June. Potential suitors at that time included CVC Capital Partners, Hellman & Friedman and Bain Capital, they said.
Shares of Ingenico have fallen 29 percent this year under-performing rivals including Dutch payment firm Adyen NV, whose shares have more than doubled since its initial public offering in June.
