Worldline unwinds ANZ Australia JV: ANZ buys back 51% stake for €54M (paid €300M in 2022), completing full retreat from non-European markets

ANZ Bank is terminating its joint venture with Worldline in Australia and bringing merchant services back in-house after Worldline failed to find a private equity buyer for the stake. Worldline paid €300M for 51% of ANZ merchant services in 2022 (gaining ~80,000 merchants and ~20% of the Australian market); ANZ is buying it back for just €54M.

ANZ Worldline lost c.€40M in 2024 and required additional capital from both parents. Combined with the New Zealand (Paymark, ~€16M), India (BillDesk, €60m) and North American (Shift4) disposals, this marks the end of Worldline's retreat from non-European markets — leaving a more focused, better-capitalised, Europe-only business.

The €54M exit price versus €300M entry crystallises another major value-destruction event from the Ingenico-era international expansion (Worldline inherited much of this footprint via the 2020 Ingenico acquisition). For the CI monitor, the strategic significance is that Worldline is now a pure European play — concentrating management attention and capital on its core EMEA markets where it competes most directly for the merchant relationships that drive Ingenico terminal demand. A more focused Worldline could become a more effective competitor in Germany, France, the Nordics and Italy.

Monitor whether the Australian exit frees management bandwidth for sharper execution in core European markets. Track ANZ's in-house terminal strategy post-JV — whether it retains Ingenico-supplied hardware or opens to alternatives. Watch for any final confirmation of the MeTS disposal to fully close the pruning programme.

• businessofpayments.com