France's Ingenico Group SA and Germany's Deutscher Sparkassen Verlag GmbH announced the creation of their joint venture.

The entity, Ingenico Payone Holding GmbH, was established from the combination of Ingenico's retail assets in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and BS Payone, a unit of Deutscher Sparkassen Verlag parent Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe. The transaction was approved by German competition regulator Bundeskartellamt and the Financial Supervisory Authority, according to a Jan. 8 statement.

Ingenico Group will own 52% of Ingenico Payone Holding, while Deutscher Sparkassen Verlag will own the remaining 48%. The joint venture will be fully consolidated within the French group as early as Jan. 1, and a new division, called Payone, will be created within the actual retail business unit.

Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband eV is the ultimate parent of Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.