ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares are rising on Wednesday morning.
At the time of writing, the banking giant's shares are up 0.5% to $36.22.
Image source: Getty Images
Why are ANZ Bank shares rising?
Investors have been buying the big four bank's shares today following the announcement of an acquisition.
According to the release, ANZ has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Worldline S.A's 51% share in Worldline Australia. It is the joint venture between ANZ and Europe's leading payment and transaction provider, Worldline S.A, that commenced in 2022.
Worldline Australia, which is also known as ANZ Worldline, is headquartered in Melbourne and provides Australian-based businesses with access to point of sale and online payments technology.
At its launch in 2022, the bank highlighted that the service would give Australian merchants access to some of the world's most advanced payment solutions, proven internationally and adapted to meet the unique requirements of the Australian market.
Why is it acquiring the stake?
The release states that management believes the acquisition is consistent with ANZ's 2030 strategy and will enable the bank to directly provide its customers with a holistic bank offering. This is part of its ambition to be a leading payments and transaction bank in the region.
Commenting on the deal, ANZ's managing director of institutional transaction banking, Lisa Vasic, said:
The ANZ 2030 strategy puts transaction banking at the centre of what we deliver to customers – whether it's improving their experiences, offering them leading technologies and platforms, or keeping them safe.
This acquisition will allow us to strengthen our direct relationship with our customers and better meet our customer's needs, as we continue to focus on providing our small business customers, right up to our largest Institutional customers, with a compelling merchant proposition.
How much will it cost?
ANZ advised that it has agreed to acquire Worldline S.A's 51% share in ANZ Worldline for an enterprise value of $89 million (on a 51% basis), with an estimated implied equity value of approximately $30 million.
Subject to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approval, completion is expected to occur in the second half of the 2026 fiscal year. The bank expects the transaction to have a 6 basis points impact on its Level 2 CET1 ratio.
It notes that there will be no change to the existing ANZ Worldline operations on completion. Its customers will continue to use ANZ Worldline services and products as they do today.
The ANZ Bank share price is X over the past 12 months.
