FIS announces $12B acquisition of Global Payments' Issuer Solutions and $6.6B Worldpay stake sale

FIS announced two major strategic moves: the acquisition of Global Payments' Issuer Solutions business for a net price of $12 billion, and the sale of its 45% stake in Worldpay to Global Payments for $6.6 billion. The transactions aim to enhance FIS’s fintech offerings and financial performance.

Issuer Solutions strengthens FIS’s credit processing capabilities with operations in over 75 countries, serving more than 170 financial institutions. The acquisition is expected to generate over $500 million in incremental adjusted free cash flow within the first year, more than $150 million in EBITDA synergies by year three, and revenue synergies exceeding $125 million annually in the long term.

The sale of Worldpay accelerates monetization of a non-cash-generating minority interest and is valued at 10.5x expected 2025 EBITDA, higher than the 9.8x multiple used in FIS’s previous 55% sale of Worldpay in February 2024. Both transactions are expected to close in the first half of 2026.

To fund the acquisition, FIS will combine $8 billion in new debt with proceeds from the Worldpay sale. Post-transaction, FIS expects gross leverage of 3.4x, with a target of 2.8x within 18 months.

FIS reaffirmed its full-year 2025 guidance and released preliminary Q1 results:

- Revenue: $2.5 billion (up 4% adjusted)
- Adjusted EBITDA: ~$958 million
- Adjusted EPS: ~$1.21
- Banking revenue growth: ~2%
- Capital Markets revenue growth: ~9%

A webcast discussing these developments was held on April 17, 2025. Full details are available at www.fisglobal.com.