Vantiv finalizes $10.4 billion Worldpay acquisition
Payment processing giant Vantiv has sealed its deal to acquire London-based processing rival Worldpay. In a legal filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission, Vantiv said it will pay $10.4 billion to acquire Worldpay, and upon completion, the combined company will take on the Worldpay moniker.
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Worldpay processes payment transactions in 146 countries and maintains a major hold over the processing market in Britain. Vantiv is currently the largest merchant acquirer by transaction volume and the largest PIN debit acquirer in the US.
The deal is expected to increase Vantiv's customer base among online retailers and small businesses, not to mention boost its international footprint significantly. Vantic said the combined company will be valued at £22.2 billion or $28.8 billion.
"Vantiv now has to figure out how to integrate another 400,000 Worldpay merchants on the heels of several other acquisitions," said Brendan Miller, principal analyst at Forrester. "The firm will need to make a decision about rationalizing platforms and implementing a go-to-market strategy to leverage Worldpay's UK and European footprint."
In terms of leadership, the combined group will be led by Vantiv CEO Charles Drucker as executive chairman and co-CEO. Current Worldpay CEO Philip Jansen will report to Drucker but have the official title of co-CEO. Vantiv CFO Stephanie Ferris will retain her position within the newly merged Worldpay.
In terms of acquisitions, Vantiv has made some strategic purchases over the last several years that were focused on boosting its presence in new markets and customer segments.
In 2014, Vantiv bought Mercury Payment Systems for $1.65 billion in an effort to grow its portfolio of integrated payments services. Integrated payments refer to tools that business can use to integrate accounting, customer relationship management, and other business applications with payments processing.
In April, Vantiv acquired Paymetric, an electronic payments software firm focused on the lucrative B2B channel, which Vantiv estimates to be worth $30 trillion. Vantiv first announced plans to buy Worldpay back in July.