Spanish Banco Santander is acquiring technology assets from German payments fintech Wirecard, which filed for insolvency in June.

As Frank Media reports, the deal with Santander will require antitrust approval, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. According to Reuters, Santander is paying around €100 million for the assets.

Wirecard provides payment solutions for retailers (mainly acquiring services). The acquisition will help Santander accelerate the expansion plans of its merchant payment business Getnet in Europe, enhancing capabilities in e-commerce and multinational merchant servicing as well as other payment services. Around 500 Wirecard employees will join Santander.

The acquisition does not include Wirecard companies and Santander will not assume any legal liability relating to Wirecard AG and Wirecard Bank AG or its past actions, Santander said.

Wirecard filed for insolvency in June 2020, after its auditors revealed that €1.9 billion of cash on its balance sheet had gone missing. Currently, insolvency administrators negotiate the sale of Wirecard subsidiaries in Asia, South Africa and Turkey, while assets from subsidiaries in Brazil, Romania and North America have already been sold.

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