• Former WorldPay founder says wants to buy RBS WorldPay


• RBS WorldPay could be worth about 1.5 billion pounds


• RBS forced to sell business by European regulators


• WorldPay, a separate business founded by Nick Ogden, was taken over by RBS through a hostile takeover for about 40 million pounds in 2002.

Finextra: The founder of online payments operator WorldPay, Nick Ogden, has formally approached the Royal Bank of Scotland about buying the business back.



The WorldPay business was one of the assets RBS was told to dispose of by the EU competition watchdog earlier this week as a condition for joining the UK Government's asset protection scheme. Ogden founded Internet payment processor WorldPay in 1989 as Streamline before selling it to the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2002.



A spokesman for Ogden confirmed to Finextra that he has formally approached UBS, which is handling the sale, about buying it back. He is also in talks with three private equity groups about financing the deal.

The unit could cost up to £1.5 billion although Ogden will look to pay considerably less now that RBS has had its hand forced by the EU.