BANCOMAT is currently owned by 113 Italian banks led by the country's biggest lender Intesa Sanpaolo , which owns a 31.55% holding. Under a new business plan drawn up by the company, its main shareholders and FSI, BANCOMAT will complete targeted acquisitions and build a new platform to offer clients a wider range of services and products. FSI has bet on the fintech sector in Italy, investing more than 900 million euros in recent years on a number of deals, including banking software provider Cedacri and credit data group Cerved. In early 2022, it invested in the payments business of cooperative banking group BCC ICCREA, acquiring a 60% stake in electronic payment company BCC Pay. BCC Pay is currently among potential bidders eyeing the payments business that has been put up for sale by Italy's third-largest bank Banco BPM , two people close to the matter said. BANCOMAT, which manages payments under the PagoBANCOMAT and BANCOMAT Pay brands, handles more than 2.8 billion payment and withdrawal transactions a year for a turnover of about 225 billion euros in total. The payments sector has been swept up in a wave of mergers and acquisitions as it seeks the financial muscle to keep up with technological advances while contending with the threat from new entrants. The accord comes after FSI last year signed a preliminary deal for an investment in BANCOMAT.
($1 = 0.9059 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za and Elisa Anzolin
Editing by Mark Potter)
