Akin Gump Advises Alpha Bank on Strategic Payments Partnership with Nexi
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(London) – Akin Gump is advising Alpha Bank S.A. on the formation of a strategic partnership with payments specialist Nexi S.p.A. The partnership establishes a payments acceptance entity in Greece to which Alpha Bank’s merchant acquiring business will be transferred, reflecting an enterprise value of €307 million.
Following completion, Alpha Bank will promote and distribute Nexi’s innovative and technologically advanced payment solutions to customers through its widespread network of more than 300 branches.
Akin Gump corporate partner Gavin Weir, who led the team advising Alpha Bank, stated, “We’re delighted to advise Alpha Bank on this strategic alliance which will create high-quality payment solutions for the bank’s customers and rapidly accelerate the digitization of payments in Greece. Members of our team have a long-standing relationship with Alpha Bank, and we’re proud to have been able to support the bank on one of the key projects in its Updated Strategic Plan.”
Mr. Weir continued, “We’ve had a very active 2021 on M&A and private equity deals, especially in the financial services, payments and technology sectors. We continue to be involved in some of the most complex and dynamic transactions in the market. Looking forward, I expect this activity to continue well into the new year.”
In addition to Mr. Weir, the Akin Gump core team included corporate associate Christopher Beardmore. Partner Davina Garrod and counsel Scott Pettifor advised on antitrust matters.
Earlier this year, Mr. Weir led the Akin Gump team advising Piraeus Bank on the €300 million sale of Piraeus Bank’s Merchant Acquiring Unit to Euronet Worldwide (click here to learn more). He also led the Akin Gump team advising Mediobanca and Cairn Capital Group Ltd. in a strategic partnership to acquire Bybrook Capital LLP (click here to learn more).
In addition, Mr. Weir was one of the authors of Akin Gump’s “Global Private Equity/M&A Survey 2021: Opportunities Ahead,” a report based on a fourth-quarter 2020 survey of more than 120 senior private equity and corporate dealmakers who shared their views on the year ahead.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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