Worldline Begins Final Capital Raise Underpinning Recovery Plan
(Bloomberg) — Worldline SA announced the launch of a €392 million ($453 million) capital increase, as it seeks to draw a line under last year’s turmoil.
The transaction is “the final step” of its previously announced plan to raise a total of about €500 million, the French payments firm said in a statement on Thursday. It follows reserved capital increases of €108 million that completed on Mar. 10.
Worldline announced the plans to raise fresh money in November in an effort to pay for a restructuring in the wake of a steep share price slump.
French lenders Bpifrance, Credit Agricole SA and BNP Paribas SA agreed at the time to participate in a €110 million equity raise at €2.75 per share, leaving them with stakes of 9.6%, 9.5% and 7.9% respectively. Worldline said it would then raise the rest through a rights issue open to all shareholders.
The company has been struggling to win back investor confidence after allegations were made in investigative newspaper reports in June that it had turned a blind eye to fraud. Its shares fell more than 80% last year and they’re down about a tenth since the start of 2026.
Worldline said last month it expects its headcount to decline by around 30% as a result of its efforts to sell assets and focus its operations.
Swiss stock exchange operator SIX Group AG, which was a substantial shareholder in Worldline, previously said it won’t participate in the planned capital increase. It took a fourth impairment related to its stake in the French payments provider in November.
Terms of the capital increase announced Thursday:
Subscription ratio: 6 new shares for 1 existing share Subscription price: €0.202 per new share Theoretical value of the preferential subscription right: €1.045 Rights trading period: from 13 March through 25 March 2026 Subscription period: from 17 March through 27 March 2026 Commitments from Bpifrance Participations, Credit Agricole SA and BNP Paribas SA to subscribe up to a total amount of about €135 million, on a pro rata basis, in proportion to their respective shareholding and for an aggregate additional amount of about €29 million Commitment from Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel, which has agreed to purchase from SIX Group all of its preferential subscription rights and to subscribe to shares for an amount of about €36 million ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
