Edenred expands its Employee Benefits offering in Belgium

Edenred, the world leader in transactional solutions for companies, employees and merchants, announces an agreement for the dual acquisition of Merits & Benefits and Ekivita . Market leaders in employee engagement platforms in Belgium, these companies offer innovative digital solutions to improve employee retention, motivation and purchasing power.

The dual acquisition of Merits & Benefits and Ekivita will enable Edenred – already the number one provider of Employee Benefits in Belgium via its Ticket Restaurant and Ticket Ecocheque programs – to expand its offering in the country and strengthen its leadership position on the local market.

Together, the two companies supply several hundred corporate clients with customized e-commerce platforms that offer access to exclusive promotional deals across a network of more than 500 partner brick-and-mortar stores and e-retailers. The platforms provide close to one million employees with ways to improve their well-being, purchasing power and work-life balance, for example by taking advantage of special offers on ticketing and childcare services.

Following on from the success of ProwebCE in France, the acquisitions will strengthen the Group’s innovative digital Employee Benefits offering and open up significant cross-selling opportunities for Edenred in Belgium. The transaction is perfectly in line with the Group’s strategy of carrying out targeted acquisitions in order to consolidate its position as a world leader in Employee Benefits.

The acquisition of the two companies will be accretive to EBITDA and net profit, Group share from 2019.

“Already leader in Employee Benefits in Belgium, Edenred, through this acquisition complementary to the Ticket Restaurant program, will enrich its offering and its value proposition in the country, by giving Belgian employees access to additional purchasing power while opening-up cross-selling opportunities”, said Arnaud Erulin, Chief Operating Officer, Europe at Edenred.