FIS has doubled down on its fintech leadership status with the acquisition of Issuer Solutions and the sale of its stake in Worldpay.
The company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Issuer Solutions for an enterprise value of $13.5bn. The net purchase price is $12bn, factoring in an anticipated $1.5bn in net present value of tax assets.
At the same time, FIS has agreed to sell its 45% stake in Worldpay to Global Payments for $6.6bn in pre-tax value.
Stephanie Ferris, CEO and President of FIS, stated: “The acquisition of Issuer Solutions is a strategic and accretive transaction that will expand FIS’ payment product suite and deepen our relationships with financial institutions and corporate clients.”
Ferris described Issuer Solutions’ credit processing capabilities as “highly complementary to FIS’ established debit processing capabilities”. She added that this move strengthens the company’s broader banking and capital markets offering.
FIS plans to fund the acquisition with a combination of $8bn in new debt and proceeds from the Worldpay sale.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval, the closing of the Worldpay transaction, and other conditions.
Speaking about the Worldpay sale, Ferris said: “We are pleased to fully monetise our Worldpay stake at an attractive valuation. The transaction enhances FIS’ financial profile and replaces our non-cash generating minority stake in Worldpay with a growing stream of recurring high-margin revenues and cash flows.”
According to FIS, the $6.6bn sale represents a multiple of approximately 10.5x expected 2025 EBITDA, a premium to the 9.8x valuation from FIS’ 2024 sale of its 55% stake in Worldpay.
This transaction is also expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending the completion of the Issuer Solutions acquisition and standard regulatory approvals.
