Mastercard is seeking to sell its real-time payments unit acquired from Denmark's Nets Group in 2019 for $3.2bn, a move that would unwind its largest ever takeover deal. The credit card giant has hired investment bankers to lead the sale of the business, which generates about $370mn in annual revenues and around $100mn in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), according to sources. Private equity groups have shown significant interest in payments deals recently, following Nexi's acquisition of Nets for €7.2bn in 2020 and Global Payments' purchase of Worldpay for $24.2bn last year.

Mastercard's acquisition of the Nets unit was part of a broader strategy shift towards becoming a 'multi-rail' payments provider serving merchants, banks, and governments, as explained by then-Chief Product Officer Michael Miebach in 2019. However, the unit has since acted as a drag on growth, prompting Mastercard to expand into other areas, including its recent $1.8bn acquisition of BVNK for stablecoin infrastructure.