ATP, Private Equity Firms to Buy Danish-Based Payments Company

LONDON - The Danish-based secure payment provider Nets said on Monday that it had agreed to be acquired by a consortium of private equity firms and a Danish pension fund for about $3.1 billion in cash.

The private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital and the Danish pension fund ATP will pay 92.37 Danish kroner, or about $17, a share to Nets’s shareholders, a group of 186 banks primarily from Denmark and Norway. Shareholders will also receive a dividend of 2.70 Danish kroner a share.

The deal, worth 17 billion Danish kroner, follows an “extensive” strategic review by Nets of its operations last year, said Peter Lybecker, the Nets chairman.

“The outcome of this review was that Nets needs a new owner with the expertise, commitment and financial resources to develop the business in a rapidly changing payments industry,” Mr. Lybecker said. “The overriding focus for the board of directors of Nets has been to select the best owner out of many interested parties with a clear understanding of the role Nets plays in society.”

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second quarter.

The Nets board unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer. Shareholders representing more than 90 percent of the company’s shares and voting rights have agreed to the deal.

Founded in 1968, Nets employs about 2,600 people in five countries. The company, which is based in Copenhagen, handled more than six billion payment card transactions in 2013.

“We see a compelling investment opportunity to transform Nets from a strong Nordic company into a Northern European leader within the payments industry, headquartered in Denmark,” said Carsten Stendevad, the ATP chief executive.

JPMorgan Chase was the financial adviser to the Nets board, while UBS, MHS Corporate Finance and Infima acted as advisers to Advent, ATP and Bain. The legal advisers were Gorrissen Federspiel, Bech-Bruun, BA-HR and Roschier to the Nets board. Kirkland & Ellis, Accura, Hannes Snellman and Wiersholm advised Advent, ATP and Bain.