Fidelity National Unloads Worldpay Stake To Global Payments For $6.6 Billion, Scoops Up Issuer Unit For $12 Billion

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. FIS on Thursday unveiled two strategic moves—acquiring Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions unit and selling its remaining stake in Worldpay.

What Happened: The Jacksonville, Florida-based firm agreed to purchase Global Payments’ Issuer Solutions arm in a transaction valued at $13.5 billion. The deal includes $1.5 billion in projected tax-related benefits, resulting in a net outlay of $12 billion.

Simultaneously, Fidelity National will offload its 45% stake in Worldpay to Global Payments for $6.6 billion in pre-tax proceeds.

Fidelity National CEO Stephanie Ferris described the acquisition as a “high-margin” growth opportunity.

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Why It Matters: The Issuer Solutions platform processes over 40 billion transactions annually, serving clients across more than 75 countries.

It is expected to bolster Fidelity National’s existing suite of services in debit and banking infrastructure. It could also broaden access to a $28 billion global issuer market—including $15 billion in the U.S. alone.

“Issuer Solutions’ globally scaled credit processing capabilities are highly complementary to FIS’ established debit processing capabilities, strengthening our broader banking and capital markets offering,” Ferris said.

Separately, GTCR—which acquired a 55% majority stake in Worldpay from Fidelity National in 2023—will now sell the payments firm to Global Payments for $24.25 billion. The private equity firm will receive 59% cash and 41% stock consideration as part of the Worldpay transaction.

Upon closing, GTCR will own shares representing 15% of Global Payments’ outstanding shares.

CEO Charles Drucker will continue to lead the Worldpay team through the transition and future integration.

What’s Next: Fidelity National intends to finance the acquisition with $8 billion in new debt alongside proceeds from the Worldpay sale.

The purchase price for Issuer Solutions reflects a valuation of approximately 9 times expected 2025 EBITDA. The Worldpay sale to Global Payments stands at about 10.5 times expected 2025 EBITDA.

These two interlinked transactions are expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Following completion, Fidelity National plans to momentarily pause share repurchases and M&A activity to prioritize reducing its debt.

1Q 2025 Update

Fidelity National will release official earnings release scheduled for May 6. The company said it reported total preliminary revenue of about $2.5 billion versus the estimate of $2.57 billion. The prior view was $2.485 billion- $2.51 billion. This reflected adjusted and recurring revenue growth of around 4%.

Adjusted EBITDA came in at roughly $958 million, while adjusted earnings per share stood at approximately $1.21 versus the analyst consensus estimate of $1.28 (prior view: $1.17 – $1.22).

Price Action: FIS shares are trading lower by 0.93% to $68.00 premarket at last check Thursday. GPN shares are trading lower by 2.29% to $82.19.

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