Nexi has declined a €1bn ($1.17bn) offer from investment firm TPG for its digital banking solutions unit, reported Bloomberg.
Last month, TPG submitted a binding offer for the digital banking solutions division of Italian payments technology company Nexi, after several months of negotiations.
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This follows earlier efforts to sell Nexi’s digital banking business with discussions involving mooted €800m deal with Italian fund F2i, which also did not result in a sale.
The Italian digital payment company said that its board of directors reviewed TPG’s proposal and, after assessment, decided not to move forward with the transaction.
Nexi stated: “Following the analysis carried out, and after careful consideration, the Board resolved not to proceed with the proposed transaction.”
After TPG submitted its bid, the Italian financial service provider Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) was stated to be opposed to the proposed transaction.
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By GlobalDataCDP, which holds a 19.14% stake in Nexi, alongside senior Italian officials, had opposed a sale based on the strategic importance of the digital banking division.
Nexi’s division includes Italy’s national interbank network spanning more than 200,000km.
It supplies technology for open banking, corporate banking services and interbank clearing systems. The unit generated core earnings of €155m last year.
Bloomberg quoted Banca Akros analyst Gabriele Venturi as saying that the move represented a “missed opportunity to accelerate balance sheet deleveraging.”
The report said that this outcome adds to a series of unsuccessful banking transactions in Italy, with some deals affected by regulatory or political factors.
This includes UniCredit’s decision to drop a bid on Banco BPM following restrictions from the Italian government.
Assicurazioni Generali’s plan to merge its asset management business with BPCE’s Natixis Investment Managers also did not progress.
Nexi has expanded in recent years through a series of acquisitions, including Nordic payments company Nets and several domestic transactions in 2020.
In 2023, Nexi signed an agreement to purchase Spanish bank Banco Sabadell’s payments subsidiary, Paycomet.
