Global Payments, a provider of payment technology and software, has entered into two separate deals for the acquisition of Worldpay and the divestiture of its issuer solutions business.
The company will acquire Worldpay for a net price of $22.7bn and sell the issuer solutions business to FIS for $13.5bn. These moves are expected to reshape Global Payments’ operations, focusing more on merchant solutions.
The acquisition of Worldpay from GTCR and FIS represents a strategic effort to expand Global Payments’ global reach. Global Payments plans to serve over six million customers across 175 countries, enabling approximately 94 billion transactions worth $3.7 trillion annually.
The issuer solutions sale represents a shift in focus towards becoming a dedicated merchant solutions provider with enhanced capabilities and market access.
Global Payments CEO Cameron Bready said: “The acquisition of Worldpay and divestiture of Issuer Solutions further sharpen our strategic focus and simplify Global Payments as a pure play merchant solutions business with significantly expanded capabilities, extensive scale, greater market access and an enhanced financial profile.
“Global Payments and Worldpay bring together highly complementary capabilities and distribution networks, creating significant opportunities for the combined business to accelerate growth, amplify investment in innovation and elevate client and partner experiences with best-in-class solutions.”
The merger combines Global Payments’ existing merchant solutions with Worldpay’s ecommerce capabilities, targeting both small businesses and large enterprises globally. This integration is expected to deliver comprehensive payment services across diverse markets.
Worldpay CEO Charles Drucker said: “We are excited to enter this next phase of Worldpay’s evolution by uniting with Global Payments to create something special in the payments industry.
“Our solutions will enhance value for our customers, especially for Worldpay’s small and medium-sized businesses. The combination of Global Payments and Worldpay brings together two strong teams with similar histories, a shared culture of innovation and deep payments expertise.”
The transaction involves FIS receiving cash and a stake in Worldpay as part of the issuer solutions divestiture. To finance the acquisition, Global Payments plans to use cash proceeds from the sale, existing resources, and new debt issuance.
A committed bridge financing deal has been secured, with plans to issue $7.7bn in debt before finalising the transaction.
Following the completion of these transactions, which await regulatory approval and are expected to close in the first half of 2026, Global Payments forecasts an annual adjusted net revenue of $12.5bn by 2025.
The company projects $600m in annual cost synergies over three years through operational efficiencies.
