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Worldpay Group plc (formerly RBS WorldPay) was a payment processing company. It was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange until 16 January 2018 when it was acquired by Vantiv. The combined company then took the name Worldpay, Inc. Worldpay, Inc. was acquired by FIS in July 2019 for $43 billion. In 2024, private-equity firm GTCR acquired a majority 55% equity interest in WorldPay.

History

Early history

WorldPay started as an online multi-currency payment system in 1997. The founder Nick Ogden partnered with National Westminster Bank to provide the financial systems and Andrew Birch of Symbiant to provide the end user payment gateway. When Royal Bank of Scotland took over National Westminster Bank, Worldpay was wholly acquired and merged with an electronic payment system called Streamline which was first released by Centre-file ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Westminster Bank, in 1989.

Management history

RBS ownership

In 1995 the Streamline system was reabsorbed into the bank when the trading name and payroll service of Centre-file ltd were sold to Ceridian. NatWest was acquired in 2002 by Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) which renamed the business RBS WorldPay and appointed Ron Kalifa as CEO. RBS expanded the business significantly by acquiring and merging a number of payment solutions companies from different countries. Over the next five years it was combined with seven leading retail payment solutions brands: Streamline, Streamline International, PaymentTrust, Netherlands based Bibit, RiskGuardian and US-based Lynk.

Divestment from RBS

As a condition in the European Commission's clearance in December 2009 of state aid to RBS, Worldpay was to be sold as part of a plan to divest selected businesses from the group. On 6 August 2010, Advent International and Bain Capital agreed to acquire Worldpay for £2.025bn, including a £200m contingent consideration, and appointed Ron Kalifa, who had previously headed up the global transaction services division with RBS, as CEO. The RBS Group retained a 20% stake in the newly independent business, with Advent International and Bain Capital owning 40% each. The sale completed on 1 December 2010.

In November 2013, RBS said it had sold its remaining stake of about 20 per cent in Worldpay to the payment processing firm’s majority shareholders, private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital. The company listed on the London Stock Exchange through an initial public offering (IPO) in October 2015. At the IPO, Advent and Bain earned a combined profit of £3.2 billion from their five year investment, selling about £1.2 billion of company stock and retaining a £2.3 billion stake.

Acquired by Vantiv

In July 2017, Vantiv announced its intention to acquire Worldpay for $10.4 billion. The combined entity was to keep the "Worldpay" name, and would be headquartered and listed in the United States, with internal operations continuing to be based in the U.K. The transaction was completed on 16 January 2018. There was initial concern from UK politicians over whether the merger was as a result of the fall in the pound's value since 2016, turning British assets into bargains for foreign investors. However, WorldPay's vice-chair, Ron Kalifa, described the deal as "a merger of equals" and emphasised that the timing was simply coincidental, as the company was "not ready last year when the pound was in a different position.". The combined entity renamed to Worldpay, Inc.

Acquired by FIS

In March 2019, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), a payment rival based in Florida, bought Worldpay Inc. in a deal worth £32 billion.

Divestment from FIS

In February 2023, in the wake of pressure from activist investors, FIS announced it would spin off its merchant business that consisted of Worldpay in the next 12 months. In July, private equity firm GTCR agreed to acquire a 55 per cent stake in WorldPay from FIS for $11.7 billion, valuing WorldPay at $18.5 billion.

Acquisitions

On 21 December 2010, the UK division of Worldpay acquired Cardsave, one of the leading independent sales organisations distributing credit and debit card processing services to small retailers.

In May 2011 Worldpay acquired Envoy Services Limited, a leading provider of alternative payment solutions to eCommerce merchants worldwide, for an undisclosed amount.

In June 2013, Worldpay launched Worldpay Zinc, a mobile card processing terminal which connects to smart phones.

In September 2013, Worldpay revealed it had acquired US payment processing company Century Payments.

In 2014, Worldpay announced a definitive agreement to acquire SecureNet Payment Systems from private equity firm Sterling Partners. The acquisition was completed in December of that year. Following this acquisition, WorldPay announced that it would spend $10 million relocating its US headquarters to Atlanta.

Operations

The company provided payment services for mail order and Internet retailers, as well as point of sale transactions. Customers are a mix of multinational, multichannel retailers, with the majority being small business merchants. It also provided loans to small businesses.

In 2016, WorldPay presented its own IT platform, which enabled the company to process up to 20 times more transactions. This decision was a part of the process to separate WorldPay entirely from the Royal Bank of Scotland and their technology systems.

See also

• Electronic commerce
• Payment gateway
• Payment processor
• Payment service provider

References

1. ^ "Preliminary Results for year ended 31 December 2016" (PDF). Worldpay. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
2. "Company overview". Worldpay. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
3. Basch, Mark (31 July 2019). "FIS completes $43 billion Worldpay acquisition". Retrieved 2 August 2019.
4. "Nick Ogden | Money20/20 Europe". europe.money2020.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
5. "Symbiant:Compliance Management Arena With Software Solutions". Mirror Review. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
6. "Worldpay value hits £5bn on market debut". The Independent. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
7. "Worldpay launches London's biggest float of 2015 with bosses set for £100 million bonanza". Standard. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
8. Menmuir, Ted (15 March 2019). "Ron Kalifa OBE joins Network International seeking London IPO". PaymentExpert.com. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
9. "A new start: WorldPay's Ron Kalifa". Banking Technology. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
10. "RBS Announces WorldPay Sale". PEHub. August 2010.
11. Tasim Zahid (27 November 2013). "RBS sells remaining Worldpay stake to Advent, Bain Capital". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
12. "Worldpay floats in largest London IPO this year". The Telegraph. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
13. Bray, Chad (5 July 2017). "Vantiv Offers Worldpay a Deal Valued at $10 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
14. Massoudi, Arash; Arnold, Martin (5 July 2017). "Vantiv strikes £9.1bn deal for Worldpay". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
15. "U.S. payments firm Vantiv clinches $10 billion deal to buy Worldpay". Reuters. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
16. Hussain, Noor Zainab. "U.S. card firm Vantiv goes global with $10 billion Worldpay buy". Archived from the original on 5 July 2017.
17. "The Deal Is Sealed, Vantiv Will Buy Worldpay For $10.4 Billion". Pymnts.com. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
18. "Vantiv officially completes Worldpay acquisition". Mobile Payments Today. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
19. Wilson, Harry (10 August 2017). "Worldpay's fall to foreign buyer poses new questions". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
20. Monaghan, Angela (9 August 2017). "US firm Vantiv to buy British rival Worldpay for £9.3bn". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
21. "Former RBS unit in $43bn sale to US rival". 18 March 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
22. "FIS completes $43 billion Worldpay acquisition | Jax Daily Record". Financial News & Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
23. Nishant, Niket; Sen, Anirban; Vinn, Milana (13 February 2023). "FIS takes $17.6 billion hit in merchant unit to be spun off". Reuters. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
24. Nishant, Niket; Sen, Anirban (6 July 2023). "Buyout firm GTCR picks up majority stake valuing FIS unit Worldpay at $18.5 billion". Reuters.
25. Sophie Baker (20 December 2010). "Worldpay acquires Cardsave". FStech.
26. "WorldPay acquisition of Envoy Services". Worldpay.
27. "Mobile chip and pin device launch to help sole traders". Worldpay Press release. 27 June 2013.
28. "Worldpay US Purchases Century Payments". Yahoo finance. 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
29. "Worldpay Announces Agreement to Acquire SecureNet Payment Systems". Business Wire. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
30. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
31. Dunkley, Emma (5 April 2016). "Worldpay set to break free from RBS technology". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 August 2019.

External links

• Official website

• Financial services companies established in 1989
• Online payments
• Payment service providers
• Bain Capital companies
• NatWest Group
• 2015 initial public offerings
• 2010 mergers and acquisitions
• Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
• 2018 mergers and acquisitions