French ePayment services company Ingenico has acquired Bambora, a payment services rival, from Nordic Capital for €1.5bn (£1.3bn) through available cash and debt. The transaction is expected to close at the end of this year.

The acquisition will add a dedicated direct-to-SMB sales channel to Ingenico’s retail business unit and increase its online and in-store offer in the Nordics, North America and Australia, as well as adding Bambora’s technological skills and enterprise portfolio.

“The acquisition of Bambora represents a key milestone in our strategic plan providing a more integrated client offering and omnichannel solution,” said Phillippe Lazare, chairman and CEO of Ingenico Group. “Coupled with the investments made in our platforms and the development of new technological features, Bambora will enhance our customer centric approach and will reinforce our online and in-store positioning through a perfect complementarity.”

Bambora, which is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, has more than 700 employees across Europe, North America and Australia. It delivers in-store, mobile and online services through end-to-end payment solutions for over 110,000 merchants and enterprises around the world. The company reached a gross revenue of €202m last year.

“With our one stop shop payment services, our cross border acquiring capabilities and our customers’ digital approach, Bambora fits perfectly with Ingenico’s strategic initiatives to address market evolutions and focus on merchants’ needs,” said Johan Tjärnberg, CEO of Bambora. “The combination of our scalable end-to-end solutions with Ingenico’s assets will create great value to our customers by helping them to drive performance.”