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Mastercard bolsters post-Brexit investment figures with £700m deal for UK finance firm

US credit giant Mastercard has forked out a whopping $920m (approx. £700m) for a 92.4% share in VocaLink, the London-based payment services business.

The deal will see a majority of the finance firm’s shareholders, who are made up of 18 major banks including Barclays and HSBC, retain a 7.6% share in the company and have the potential for an additional £169m earn-out provided performance targets are met.

Founded in 2007 following a merger between LINK Interchange Network Limited and Voca Limited, VocaLink specialises in a range of electronic payment products and platforms central to the UK’s banking and payments network, including Faster Payments, BACS and the Link ATM network.

Today’s agreement will mean Mastercard will now play a bigger role in the ‘UK payments ecosystem’ according to Chief Executive and President Ajay Banga.

He commented: “We’re excited about the opportunity to play a bigger role in payments in the UK, a very strategic market for us.

“VocaLink is a unique company with outstanding technology, assets and people. We look forward to investing in and maximizing the technology, and embedding it in our products and solutions, both in the UK and around the world.”

VocaLink is a massive player in the UK where it processes the vast majority of worker’s salaries, individual household bills and state benefits through its network of electronic payment services.

David Yates, Chief Executive Officer at VocaLink said: “Today’s announcement is positive news for our partners, customers and employees.

“We will continue to focus on ensuring that the UK systems perform seamlessly, maintaining the highest levels of quality. At the same time, we’ll invest in further innovation to power competitive payments solutions for consumers and businesses around the globe.”

The news will be a big boost to investment figures, both in the UK and Europe, after a disappointing Q2 where deal values tailed off due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum.

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