JPMorgan Chase, Vantiv have interest in Worldpay takeover
LONDON— Worldpay Group, the British payments processing company, said on Tuesday that it had received separate preliminary approaches from its U.S. rival Vantiv and from JPMorgan Chase about a potential takeover, sending its shares higher.
Payment processing has become an attractive sector as more payments move online and onto cellphones and other devices, fuelling growth in financial technology, or fintech, companies, as well as acquisitions by traditional payment processors.
A deal with Vantiv, if finalized, would expand the geographic footprint of the Cincinnati-based company, which provides payment and technology services to merchants and financial institutions in the United States. A JPMorgan Chase deal would bolster the processing power of the bank’s credit and debit cards business.
Vantiv has made several acquisitions in the payments space.
It agreed in November 2016 to acquire the U.S. arm of Moneris Solutions Corp., a Canadian provider of payment services to merchants, and agreed in April to buy Paymetric, a provider of electronic payment technology. The announcement on Tuesday sent shares of Worldpay more than 12 per cent higher in midmorning trading in London. The company was worth more than £7 billion, or about $9 billion (U.S.), based on its market capitalization on Tuesday.
Worldpay said that a “further announcement would be made if appropriate” and that it had made the disclosure without the consent of Vantiv or JPMorgan.
Under British takeover rules, Vantiv and JPMorgan have until Aug.1to make a formal offer.