Blackstone-backed payments group Mollie is nearing completion of its takeover of UK fintech GoCardless, in a deal that will consolidate two of Europe’s largest private payments firms and increase competitive pressure on established players such as Adyen. 

Sources cited in a Bloomberg report said Mollie could announce the transaction this week. The move follows GoCardless’s decision to halt a secondary share sale for investors and early employees earlier this year and instead pursue a full sale. The valuation for the deal remains unclear, although GoCardless was valued at $2.1bn in 2022 and was reported in August to be in talks at about $1.5bn.

The potential acquisition would bring together two sizeable venture-backed fintech platforms. GoCardless counts Permira, BlackRock Private Equity Partners, Accel, Balderton Capital, and GV among its shareholders. The firm posted a pretax loss of roughly £35m in the 12 months to June 2024 but narrowed losses after reducing headcount by about one fifth and relocating some roles to Eastern Europe. It serves nearly 95,000 customers worldwide and recently acquired Nuapay.

Mollie, valued at $6.5bn in 2021, processes payments for more than 250,000 European businesses and employs around 900 staff. An agreement with GoCardless would expand its product capabilities and scale across recurring payments. Both companies declined to comment.

The transaction would mark one of the most significant European private-market fintech deals of the year, strengthening sponsor-backed platforms as competition intensifies across the continent’s payments landscape.

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