UK regulator approves Global Payments' $24 billion acquisition of Worldpay in first phase

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has approved Global Payments Inc.'s planned takeover of Worldpay, confirmed in its Phase 1 review decision released on Monday that it had "approved the proposed acquisition" and determined that the deal did not raise competition concerns that required further investigation.
The deal, announced in April, is structured as a three-way swap between Global Payments, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) and GTCR, a private equity firm. Under the plan, Atlanta-based Global Payments will acquire Worldpay for $24.25 billion ($22.70 billion net of tax assets) and sell its Card Issuing Solutions unit (TSYS) to FIS for $13.50 billion. Upon completion, the combined merchant acquiring unit will process more than 94 billion transactions per year in 175 countries, totaling about $3.70 trillion, according to corporate filings.