Worldpay may attract rival interest, sector advisors say

Worldpay [LON:WPG] could attract rival bids from payments groups after a recent takeover approach by Vantiv [NYSE:VNTV], three sector advisors following the situation said.

On Wednesday, Worldpay said it agreed to preliminary terms for a possible equity and cash merger with Vantiv valuing the target at approximately GBP 7.6bn. The offer represents an 18.9% premium to Worldpay’s closing prior to the Tuesday announcement acknowledging preliminary approaches from Vantiv and JPMorgan Chase [NYSE:JPM].

Vantiv rival, Global Payments [NYSE:GPN], had been communicating with Worldpay up until the Tuesday announcement, said a person familiar with the matter. JPMorgan said it does not intend to make an offer for Worldpay.

One of the sector advisors said he expected Global Payments to mount a rival bid that, like Vantiv’s, would be primarily funded with stock. The two US fintech groups have similar market caps and have both aggressively pursued acquisitions to add new technology and pick up additional customers.

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