Fiserv-First Data Merger Is Complete

The big deal is now complete: Fiserv announced this morning (July 29) that it has completed its acquisition of First Data Corporation. The two massive firms first inked the deal earlier this year, which will see Fiserv purchase First Data for $22 billion in an all-stock transaction.

At the time the transaction was announced, the companies said users would benefit from a “highly complementary combination” that offers a range of payments and financial services, spanning account processing and digital banking, integrated payments and the Clover POS system, among other products and services.

With the transaction now complete, Fiserv is one of the world’s largest payments and financial technology providers.

“As a newly combined company, we will leverage our technology expertise and integrate our solutions to serve client needs in ways no one else can match,” said Frank Bisignano, president and chief operating officer, Fiserv (former CEO of First Data). “We are focused on innovating to enable our clients to better serve their customers and end users so they can succeed in a rapidly changing world.”

Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki confirmed in his post-earnings release call with investors that the merger had received all required regulatory approvals without any conditions, meaning it was officially set to conclude.

“We’re thrilled to be on the precipice of closing this transaction and moving forward together. We’re even more convinced that this transformative combination will extend leadership and value for clients, create important opportunities for associates and deliver above-market returns for shareholders for many years to come,” he noted.

Yabuki added that the combined firms are primarily focused on their areas of synergy, particularly expanding technologies like point-of-sale lending, helping merchants get their money faster and using data in terms of “thinking about how to make better decisions around fraud and the like.”

He also noted that outside the U.S., where Fiserv has a smaller presence, the company is looking at how to move a number of Fiserv solutions “through the First Data distribution system or the First Data network outside the U.S.”

Now, as the deal is closed, First Data shareholders will receive 0.303 of a Fiserv share for each share of First Data common stock they own prior to the market’s opening as of July 29, which will be tax-free for First Data shareholders.

The combined company will carry the Fiserv brand and will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol FISV.