Sebastian Brunner Communications
Wirecard: Investor process for core business successfully completed – Banco Santander acquires technology assets and platform

PRESS RELEASE

Rechtsanwalt Dr Michael Jaffé
Insolvency Administrator of Wirecard AG and
Wirecard Technologies GmbH, Aschheim

Investor process for core business successfully completed

Banco Santander acquires technology assets and platform

Employees can join Santander – Aschheim site remains

Munich/Aschheim, November 16, 2020. In the insolvency proceedings concerning the assets of Wirecard AG, Wirecard Technologies GmbH and other companies of the Wirecard Group, the assets of the European core business were successfully sold after an intense investor process. Banco Santander will acquire the technology platform of the payment service provider in Europe as well as all highly specialized technological assets. Most employees currently managing the acquired assets will become part of Santander’s global merchant services team. This also applies to the majority of employees of Wirecard Bank AG, which will enter into a solvent wind-down process after the transaction has been completed. The transaction is subject to antitrust approval and certain other conditions and expected to close by the end of the year. Until closing date, Wirecard and Santander will jointly work to ensure a smooth transition to this new phase of the Wirecard service.

“We have completed the investor process for Wirecard Core successfully despite the most unfavorable conditions. This is even more remarkable because the whole process has been overshadowed by ever-new scandal reports of past events and initially no liquidity was available to maintain business operations. It is particularly pleasing that this result offers employees a positive perspective. Thus, we have achieved our goal of finding the best possible solution for employees and creditors,” comments insolvency administrator Dr Michael Jaffé.

With the acquisition of Wirecard’s acquiring and issuing business Santander intends to reinforce and accelerate its position in the payment services and related merchant business in Europe. The employees currently managing the acquired assets in highly qualified teams will become part of Santander’s global merchant services team under the umbrella of the Getnet global franchise. The acquisition will accelerate Getnet’s expansion in Europe, enhancing capabilities in e-commerce and multinational merchant servicing as well as other payment services.

With the sale, less than three months after the opening of insolvency proceedings the main businesses of Wirecard have been successfully sold. Dr Jaffé has already achieved disposals of the subsidiaries in Brazil, Romania and North America for the benefit of the Wirecard creditors. Currently, investor processes are still underway for other subsidiaries in Asia, South Africa and Turkey. Results are expected within the next weeks.

Additional information:

Dr Michael Jaffé is one of the most experienced and renowned insolvency administrators in Germany. He has been regularly appointed by the courts for over two decades in difficult and large insolvency cases where the aim is to secure assets for creditors and to realize them in the best possible way. A special expertise lies in multi-stage group insolvency proceedings and proceedings with cross-border issues or assets that are difficult to realize. Among the most nationally and internationally renowned insolvency proceedings of Dr Michael Jaffé are the media group KirchMedia of the late Dr Leo Kirch, the former global memory chip manufacturer Qimonda and the German subsidiaries of the Petroplus Group. He also successfully completed the restructuring of caravan manufacturer Knaus Tabbert, Grob Aerospace and Cinterion Wireless Modules Holding GmbH, among others.

As the insolvency administrator of Stadtwerke Gera Aktiengesellschaft, a holding company for participations of the city of Gera for public welfare, he found a permanent solution for all companies. As insolvency administrator of the insolvent fund company NARAT GmbH & Co. KG, Dr Michael Jaffé sold one of the largest commercial real estate portfolios in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the insolvency proceedings of DCM Deutsche Capital Management (DCM AG), a leading provider of closed-end funds in Germany with a total investment volume of around EUR 4.7 billion, he worked through the complex structures and successfully liquidated the investments. He is also the insolvency administrator of Pro Health AG, Phoenix Solar AG and Dero Bank AG.

As the insolvency administrator of three German P&R container management companies, he realized the worldwide container fleet within the framework of a complex cross-border structure with the aim of minimizing the losses for the approximately 54,000 investors who have filed for insolvency tables for over EUR 3 billion.

For more than two decades, JAFFÉ Rechtsanwälte Insolvenzverwalter has been one of the leading law firms in the fields of insolvency administration, insolvency law and restructuring (in accordance with the German Law on Further Facilitating the Restructuring of Companies (Gesetz zur weiteren Erleichterung der Sanierung von Unternehmen) or ESUG), especially in complex and cross-border proceedings. An important basis for this is the many years of experience, competence and independence that are regularly in demand, especially in complex proceedings. This is one of the reasons why the firm has enjoyed the trust of courts and creditors for decades, especially in difficult proceedings where conflicting interests of the parties involved exist. With its own efficient structure, which has grown over the years, the firm can accompany proceedings of any size in the interest of creditors.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions:

Media contact for the insolvency administrator
Sebastian Brunner
Tel.: +49175/5604673

Email: sebastian.brunner@brunner-communications.de