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Worldpay went public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) this morning, raising around £2.5billion.
The company, which provides payment services for mail order and Internet retailers, was sold in 2010 by the Royal Bank of Scotland to Advent International and Bain Capital. RBS said that it had to sell the tech company as part of conditions attached to its £47 billion bailout.
Its private equity owners (Advent and Bain) sold a 51 percent stake in the company initially offering shares at 240p each – valuing the company at £6.3 billion.
The float is Europe’s largest private equity-backed listing and the UK’s largest listing since Royal Mail in 2013.
Chief executive Philip Jansen called the company’s listing as “a significant milestone”.
“We have already invested over £1bn in our technology, people and capabilities, helping us to become an advanced and sophisticated technology-led organisation with great potential,” he added.
Worldpay has around 4,500 employees, mostly in the UK and the US – its two biggest markets.
Worldpay has benefited from the rapid growth in mobile payments and widespread use of card transactions.
The tech firm handles around 31 million transactions a day.
The London Stock Exchange Group said in a statement that Worldpay’s decision to list in the UK “confirms London’s position as [a] leading global financial centre” and “highlights [an] exceptional investor appetite”.