Worldpay, British Payment Processing Firm, To Sell Shares On London Stock Exchange

British payment processing company Worldpay announced Friday that it intends to raise 890 million pounds ($1.4 billion) through an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange next month. The company, owned by private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital, said that it expects to sell at least 25 percent of its shares in the IPO.

“Worldpay has been transformed into a global leader in payments since it became an independent company in 2010. This required an enormous investment to ensure Worldpay is at the forefront of a fast changing payments landscape,” Worldpay CEO Philip Jansen said, in a statement published on the company’s website.

Worldpay, which posted revenue of 863.4 million pounds ($1.35 billion), and 374.7 million pounds ($586 million) in underlying cash profits, in 2014, became a standalone company in 2010 when Advent and Bain Capital bought it from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The company processes about 31 million mobile, online and in-store transactions daily -- including approximately 40 percent of web-based transactions in Europe -- and employs about 4,500 people.

“The IPO is an exciting and logical next step as we seek to continue this momentum,” Jansen added. “It will enable us to access new capital for growth, augment our global proposition and further enhance our ability to serve customers across the world.”

The announcement comes just days after Sky News reported that the French payment services firm Ingenico Group had made a 6.6 billion pound ($10.3 billion) bid for its British rival, a move that would have created a company worth 11 billion pounds ($17.2 billion).

According to Bloomberg, if Advent and Bain capital sell their stakes, the IPO could be this year’s largest on the London Stock Exchange.