Breakdown of the scandal group: Santander buys Wirecard’s core business

Tuesday 17th November 2020

The spectacular business crime about the German payment service provider costs investors billions of euros. At least part of the money is to be saved by winding up the group. With the sale of the core business of the scandalous company one takes a step forward.

The European core business of the payment service provider Wirecard has been sold to the major Spanish bank Santander, according to insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe. Banco Santander will take over the technology platform in Europe as well as all the necessary assets, Jaffe said. At the same time, the majority of all remaining Wirecard employees in the Acquiring & Issuing division will be part of Santander’s global dealer service team. This also applies to the majority of the employees of Wirecard Bank AG, which is to be shut down in an orderly manner after the sale.

Jaffe had recently announced that he wanted as many of the remaining 600 employees as possible to stay. Now the insolvency administrator said that the best possible solution for the employees and the creditors had been found. A decision was expected these days, as the first creditors’ meeting at Wirecard is scheduled for Wednesday. Jaffe should want to present results there. For him, it is a matter of making as much money as possible through sales in order to compensate the creditors at least in part for their billions in losses. The subsidiaries in Brazil, Romania and the USA have already been sold.

In addition to Santander, the British telecommunications provider Lycamobile was recently traded as an interested party. The transaction now agreed with Santander is still subject to antitrust approval and certain other conditions. It is expected to be closed by the end of the year, Jaffe said. Since Wirecard Bank is also part of the package up for sale, the financial supervisory authority BaFin also has a say.