Mumbai, May 13 -- French payments company Worldline has hired investment bank BNP Paribas to explore a potential sale of its India business, two people aware of the matter said.

Discussions are at a preliminary stage, and the deal size could be above $200 million, one of the two people said on the condition of anonymity.

"The sale is expected to happen through an auction process among a wide buyer pool, including strategic players in the payments space in India," the person added.

The exit plan comes at a time Worldline is restructuring its global portfolio to restore investor confidence and revive growth and profitability amid macroeconomic headwinds.

Worldline declined to comment, while queries emailed to BNP Paribas remained unansw...