Worldline Shares Surge Amid Private Equity Interest News

Shares of French payment services company Worldline rose by 16% on Monday afternoon in the Paris stock exchange following reports of interest from several private equity firms. This development comes at a time when the company is facing a decline in share prices, multiple profit warnings, and a leadership change. Among the interested parties is Bain Capital, which is in the early stages of evaluating a possible takeover bid for Worldline.

Bain Capital, known for its investments in the payments sector, holds a 10% stake and a board seat in the Italian payment firm Nexi. The private equity firm has been in discussions with advisors about various ways to structure a potential bid for Worldline, whose stock price has recently been hovering near record lows.

The talks are in preliminary stages, and there is no certainty that they will lead to a formal offer. Sources close to the matter requested anonymity due to the private nature of the discussions. When contacted, a representative of Bain Capital preferred not to comment on the matter. Similarly, Worldline did not provide any comments regarding market speculation.