Fiserv reportedly in the running to acquire Shift4 Payments
US fintech Fiserv is reportedly in the running to acquire Shift4 Payments, a Pennsylvania-based payment processing firm sporting a market value of around $7 billion.
Shift4 Payments is reportedly exploring a sale
According to a recent Reuters report, sources claim final bids for a potential takeover are due to arrive in the coming weeks, but add that a deal still might not materialise.
Along with Fiserv, the report also puts forward Spain’s Amadeus IT Group as another contender for the acquisition. Amadeus provides technology solutions for the travel industry specifically and sports a market capitalisation of €21 billion.
However, despite an increase in its recent acquisition activity, which includes its takeover of biometric solutions provider Vision-Box in January, Amadeus was quick to refute the rumours connecting it with Shift4, stating in a short press release that the group is “not interested in this transaction”.
Founded in 1999 as United Bank Card, Shift4 Payments provides payment processing services and POS software and hardware to merchants. It claims it currently has over 200,000 customers across North America, Europe and Japan, with an annual processing rate of over $200 billion across 3.5 billion transactions.
A shareholder letter for the end of Q3 2023 by CEO Jared Isaacman revealed that the company had achieved a “quarterly record” of $46.5 million in net income and $124.5 million in adjusted EBITDA. In the letter, Isaacman stoked the possibility of a sale by adding that Shift4 is “actively exploring strategic opportunities and alternatives that will reduce distractions and serve our company, employees and shareholders best”.
He expanded on this during an interview with Payments Dive in November, in which he claimed “several parties” had displayed interest in acquiring the company, but that the bulk of this interest had derived from “fast-money hedge funds that like to play games”.
Fiserv sports a solid reputation for M&A activity, with São Paulo-based financial software provider Skytef among its most recent purchases. The company has so far remained tight-lipped regarding Shift4, and did not respond to FinTech Futures‘ request for comment.
Likewise, Shift4 asserts that “it’s our policy not to comment on market rumours”.
