Shares of payments specialist Worldline WLN.PA climb on the Paris Stock Exchange on Friday after Bloomberg reported that Crédit Agricole
CAGR.PA was considering taking a stake in its capital.
Worldline shares advanced 5.30% at 12:15 GMT, after climbing more than 9%. Crédit Agricole was almost stable at the same time (-0.06%) while the CAC 40 .FCHI gained 0.34%.
The French bank would consider taking a stake in Worldline in order to support its partner in difficulty due to the deterioration of the economic situation, Bloomberg reported, citing sources close to the matter.
The two groups announced in April the opening of exclusive negotiations with a view to creating a joint venture specializing in payment services for merchants in France. A binding agreement was signed in July.
Worldline shares have lost more than 59% of their value since the start of the year.
(Written by Corentin Chappron, with Piotr Lipinski; edited by Kate Entringer)