Worldline's $10.9 billion acquisition of terminal and payments technology provider Ingenico last February marked the most notable payments transaction in 2020, according to the annual mergers and acquisitions data of the financial technology industry report from investment bank Berkery Noyes.
Six of the top 10 transactions last year took place in the banking sector, Berkery Noyes reported, with Visa's $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid announced in January 2020 also being among those top deals.
Last month, Visa continued to defend itself against Department of Justice objections that the acquisition was designed simply to eliminate a potential rival.
Nexi S.p.A's acquisitions of Nets Holding for $8.3 billion and SIA group for $5.3 billion were also in the top 10 list, as the Italian technology company continued to strengthen its framework against the potential of U.S. payments companies entering its market.
Berkery Noyes noted the payments market segment for 2020 had just more than150 overall transactions, a number similar to 2019 but higher than the reported 140 from 2018.
The report broke down data for the entire financial technology and information industry, citing approximately 378 transactions considered strategic in nature and 119 defined as financial-based transactions. As such, the strategic transactions accounted for 89% of total value in the industry and 77% of volume.
The top transaction last year was Morgan Stanley's $13.1 billion acquisition of E-Trade Financial Corp., while Intercontinental Exchange's $11 billion purchase of Ellie Mae Inc. was the runner up.
