Worldline offers EU concessions over $9.2 billion Ingenico deal

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - French payments company Worldline <WLN.PA> has offered concessions in a bid to gain EU antitrust approval for its 7.8-billion-euro (7.07 billion pounds) acquisition of rival Ingenico <INGC.PA>, a European Commission filing showed on Thursday.

The move by Worldline, once part of Atos <ATOS.PA>, could help it stave off a full-scale, four-month investigation by the EU competition enforcer.

The Commission, which did not provide details in line with its policy, extended its deadline for a decision to Sept. 30.

It is now expected to seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept the concessions, demand more or launch an investigation.

EU antitrust regulators typically prefer asset sales to address competition concerns.

Reuters reported on Sept. 7 that Worldline may have to resort to such a move to secure EU approval to buy Ingenico.

The sector has seen a wave of mergers and acquisitions led by U.S. rivals seeking to build up their share of digital transactions.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Marine Strauss and Jason Neely)