(31 May 2017 – Australia) First Data has officially agreed to acquire rival payment processor CardConnect for around US$750 million (A$1 billion).
The deal, First Data’s largest since its 2015 IPO, will be covered mostly in cash and will include the repayment of CardConnect’s debt.
First Data executes an average of US$2.2 trillion in monetary transactions each year, compared to CardConnect’s US$26 billion in payments.
CardConnect recorded sales of about US$589 million last year, however lost around US$16 million. The firm went public last year shortly after it was acquired by FinTech Acquisition Corporation, whose public stock converted to CardConnect stock.
First Data’s chief executive, Frank Bisignano, said: “This transaction is consistent with our strategy of integrating and scaling innovative technologies across our distribution footprint to better serve our partners and customers.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity for CardConnect to partner with an organization that has the world class capabilities of First Data,” added CardConnect President and CEO, Jeff Shanahan.
“This transaction improves our ability to innovate and deliver leading technology-oriented commerce solutions to our combined customer base. In addition, we believe our growth trajectory improves with First Data’s breadth of products and its powerful distribution network.”