M&A Awards 2026: Mollie acquires GoCardless (Best Deal 2026)

Brief description deal / Deal outline  

Mollie has agreed to acquire GoCardless in a transaction valued at approximately €1.1 billion. The acquisition will combine Mollie’s payment platform with GoCardless’ expertise in bank payments and recurring payments, expanding the group’s offering to merchants across Europe and other international markets.  

Why should this deal win the Award for Best Deal 2026?  

It is Mollie’s first acquisition, and it brings together two profitable fintechs that complement each other: Mollie in card and local payment methods, and GoCardless in bank payments, direct debit and open banking. The combined group serves more than 350,000 businesses in over 30 markets. 

The strategic logic is clear. Many businesses use separate providers for cards, direct debit and account-to-account payments. That adds cost and complexity, and for subscription businesses that rely only on card payments it leads to failed payments and lost customers. Mollie and GoCardless solve this with one platform for cards, local payment methods such as iDEAL and Twint, and bank payments, supported by business accounts, financing and fraud prevention. Through Mollie Connect, software platforms can build GoCardless’s bank payment network, which connects to more than 2,500 banks and processes over US$130 billion a year, directly into their own products. GoCardless also gives Mollie a foothold in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Both companies say the deal is about growth, not cost-cutting. 

The deal stands out for its innovative financing. More than 90% of the purchase price is paid in Mollie shares. GoCardless shareholders, including Permira, BlackRock and Balderton Capital, do not cash out but become co-owners of the enlarged Dutch group, valued at around €3 billion. That aligns interests and protects Mollie’s cash position. The price is about half of GoCardless’s 2022 valuation of US$2.1 billion, a realistic reset after the fintech correction, while GoCardless has since posted its first profitable quarter. 

The deal is complex. Two private, heavily regulated payment companies on either side of the Brexit border had to be combined, with regulatory approvals in several jurisdictions. A share exchange between two unlisted companies requires a careful valuation of both, and agreement among a large group of shareholders, including Blackstone, EQT and founder Adriaan Mol at Mollie. 

Execution was careful and focused on continuity. Closing came about nine months after the December 2025 announcement. Integration is phased: customer contracts stay unchanged for now, GoCardless keeps its brand as “GoCardless, a Mollie company”, and co-founder Hiroki Takeuchi continues to lead the business under group CEO Koen Köppen. Houthoff and Ashurst advised Mollie, and Linklaters, BofA Securities and Lazard advised on the GoCardless side. 

The deal also has clear societal value. For hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, it means fewer failed payments, lower transaction costs, better cash flow and less administration. It also strengthens the European payments industry: a Dutch fintech is growing into a European champion with global reach, able to compete with large international players. 

Mollie–GoCardless brings together a convincing strategy, an innovative share-based structure, a complex cross-border deal and careful execution. It is a defining moment for European fintech. 

What is the impact of this deal for the company?  

For Mollie, the acquisition of GoCardless is a major strategic step. As its first acquisition, it takes the company from a card and local-payments provider to one of Europe’s most complete payment platforms. Mollie gains GoCardless’s bank payments network, which connects to more than 2,500 banks and processes over US$130 billion a year, so it can now offer cards, local payment methods, direct debit and Pay by Bank on one platform. Its customer base grows to more than 350,000 businesses, and it gains a foothold outside Europe in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Because more than 90% of the deal is paid in shares, Mollie protects its cash position while growing into a group valued at around €3 billion. For GoCardless, the deal means continuity and new growth opportunities. The company keeps its brand as “GoCardless, a Mollie company”, co-founder Hiroki Takeuchi stays on as CEO, and customer contracts remain unchanged for now. Through Mollie’s broad platform, financing products and presence in more than 30 European markets, GoCardless’s bank payments can reach many more businesses. 

What is the impact of this deal for the direct stakeholders?  

Mollie becomes one of Europe’s most complete payment platforms, with more than 350,000 business customers and a foothold outside Europe. Because more than 90% of the price is paid in shares, its cash position stays intact. Existing shareholders such as Blackstone, EQT and founder Adriaan Mol now hold a smaller share of a larger, more diversified group valued at around €3 billion. 

Investors such as Permira, BlackRock and Balderton Capital do not cash out but become co-owners of the combined group. The price is about half of GoCardless’s 2022 valuation, but they keep the upside of the combined platform’s future growth. 

GoCardless employees keep their brand and leadership, with co-founder Hiroki Takeuchi staying on as CEO. Both companies say the deal is about growth, not cost-cutting, and employees on both sides become part of a larger group with more room to develop. 

Merchants get cards, local payment methods, direct debit and Pay by Bank from one provider, which means fewer failed payments, lower costs and less administration. Customer contracts stay unchanged for now. Software platforms can build GoCardless’s bank payment network directly into their products through Mollie Connect. 

What is the impact of this deal on society?  

The combination of Mollie and GoCardless has a positive impact on society on several levels. For hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, which make up the backbone of the European economy, payments become simpler, cheaper and more reliable. With cards, local payment methods and bank payments on one platform, businesses spend less on administration, have fewer failed payments and get more predictable cash flow. Bank payments are often cheaper than card payments, which lowers the cost of doing business, particularly for subscription and recurring-revenue models. The deal also strengthens Europe’s position in an industry dominated by large international players. A Dutch fintech is growing, through consolidation, into a European champion with global reach, which helps build an independent and competitive European payments infrastructure. Because both companies stated that the deal is about growth and not cost-cutting, it also supports continuity and further development of jobs and fintech talent in Amsterdam and London. Finally, the deal shows that European scale-ups do not have to sell to non-European buyers: they can grow further by joining forces within Europe. 

What was most complex about this deal?  

The most complex part of this deal was its structure. More than 90% of the purchase price was paid in Mollie shares, which meant two privately held companies with no stock-market price had to agree on their relative value. That was especially sensitive because GoCardless’s last valuation, in 2022, was about twice the eventual price. Both sides had large groups of shareholders who all had to agree: Blackstone, EQT and founder Adriaan Mol at Mollie, and Permira, BlackRock and Balderton Capital at GoCardless. On top of that, both companies are regulated payment institutions operating on either side of the Brexit border. Closing required regulatory approvals in several jurisdictions, including for GoCardless’s operations outside Europe. The integration also needed careful planning. Hundreds of thousands of businesses depend on both platforms every day for their payments, so customer continuity had to be guaranteed. That is why the companies chose a phased integration: customer contracts stay unchanged for now and GoCardless keeps its own brand. Despite this complexity, the deal closed about nine months after it was announced. 

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