Freshfields advises Nets on €2.85bn sale of its corporate services businesses to Mastercard

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised payment services provider Nets on the disposal of the majority of its corporate services businesses to Mastercard for €2.85bn.

Nets is a leading European payments technology company servicing hundreds of financial institutions, businesses, and merchants across the European market. This is a highly strategic transaction for both parties, providing Mastercard with technology and teams to complement its existing account-to-account capabilities, while allowing Nets to focus on strong and scalable businesses within merchant services.

The Freshfields team was led by partners Tim Wilmot, Keir MacLennan, Andrew Craig, Jill Gatehouse, Cyrus Pocha, and Thomas Lübbig.

“This deal comes less than two years after H&F [private equity investment firm Hellman & Friedman] led the original public-to-private transaction for Nets, which was one of the biggest of its kind at the time,” said Wilmot. “It is the latest in a series of deals that we have done which showcase our outstanding fintech credentials and our ability to do complex global work.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, pending regulatory approvals.