FIS spends $35B on Worldpay as digital payments surge

CINCINNATI (AP) - Fidelity National Information Services is buying Worldpay for about $35 billion as financial transactions increasingly move online.

The online payment industry has been consolidating as companies attempt to scale up to better handle transactions globally.

Worldpay, a British company, was acquired for more than $10 billion less than two years ago by Vantiv, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. That combined company is what FIS said it would acquire Monday.

Worldpay processes more than 40 billion transactions a year and supports more than 300 payment types across more than 120 currencies.

With Worldpay's debt included, the companies on Monday put the deal's value at $43 billion.

Worldpay Inc. shareholders will receive 0.9287 FIS shares and $11.00 in cash for each Worldpay share they own.

FIS shareholders will own about 53 percent of the combined company, which will keep the name Fidelity National Information Services Inc. Worldpay shareholders will own approximately 47 percent.

The combined company will be based in Jacksonville, Florida, where FIS is headquartered. Gary Norcross will continue as FIS president, CEO and chairman. Worldpay executive chairman and CEO Charles Drucker will become executive vice chairman.

The deal, with regulatory and shareholder approval, would likely close in the second half of the year.

Shares of Worldpay Inc. jumped more than 8 percent before the opening bell Monday. Shares of Fidelity fell about 4 percent.