FIS pushes forward with acquisition of Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions amid growing interest in payments infrastructure.
FIS has said its $13.5bn acquisition of Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions business is still on track, even as the UK competition regulator restarts its review of the deal.
On October 10, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had rejected the companies’ merger notice because it was missing required information. This led to the official review timeline being paused and will restart once a complete notice is submitted.
FIS said it had “proactively identified additional information” during the process and will refile the notice with the CMA. The company added it still expects the deal to close in the first half of 2026.
The CMA first launched its inquiry into the merger on September 19
A look at the deal
The Issuer Solutions deal is part of FIS’ strategy to simplify its business and focus on core processing services and follows the company’s decision to sell its stake in Worldpay.
The deal will see FIS buy 100% of Issuer Solutions for $13.5bn, or $12bn after tax benefits. The company plans to fund the purchase with $8bn in new debt and the proceeds from its $6.6bn sale of a 45% stake in Worldpay, also to Global Payments.
FIS CEO and President Stephanie Ferris called the deal “a strategic and accretive transaction” which will help the company strengthen its relationships with banks and corporate clients.
“We are pleased to fully monetise our Worldpay stake at an attractive valuation,” Ferris said in April. “The transaction enhances FIS’ financial profile and replaces our non-cash generating minority stake in Worldpay with a growing stream of recurring revenues and cash flows.”
The growing value of payments infrastructure
Payments infrastructure has always been valuable. By owning the infrastructure, companies can control the flow of money, strengthen relationships with clients and generate steady revenue.
While the FIS deal focuses on traditional infrastructure like issuer processing, there is growing interest in next-generation platforms.
Last week, Coinbase and Mastercard were named as potential buyers of BVNK, a London-based fintech which specialises in stablecoin payments. The deal could be worth between $1.5bn and $2.5bn, according to reports.
BVNK helps businesses connect to both traditional payment networks and blockchains through a single API. A sale would give the buyer a stronger position in cross-border and real-time payments.
