Atlanta impact of $10B Worldpay deal unclear

Payments processor Worldpay has its U.S. headquarters in this building at Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta. It’s unclear how a pending merger with Ohio-based Vantiv will affect the workforce. AJC FILE PHOTO

Payments processor Worldpay has its U.S. headquarters in this building at Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta. It’s unclear how a pending merger with Ohio-based Vantiv will affect the workforce. AJC FILE PHOTO

Worldpay, the British payment processor with U.S. headquarters in Midtown Atlanta, has agreed to a $10 billion buyout offer by rival U.S.-based processor Vantiv.

What the deal might mean for Atlanta is an open question.

The agreement announced Wednesday would give Vantiv, based in Cincinnati, an international presence it lacks while also boosting its position as the No. 1 U.S. credit and debit card processor by total transactions. If approved by shareholders and regulators, the merger would create a giant with footholds in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

In their announcement, the companies said they “have identified substantial opportunities for cost synergies,” a term that’s often a euphemism for job cuts and other expense reductions.

Wayne Johnson, an analyst at Raymond James in Atlanta who watches the financial technology, or FinTech, sector, said those savings will likely come in the U.S. where Vantiv already is the No. 1 processor, rather than overseas where it has no presence. Atlanta could see some lost jobs as a result.

“There’s definitely some opportunity for Vantiv to consolidate some of these facilities, whether it’s technological or administrative,” Johnson said.

Worldpay and Vantiv are known in the business as merchant acquirers, or companies that help retailers accept electronic payments either in-store or online.

Georgia is a hub for financial technology companies, which also include TSYS and First Data. About 70 percent of the card transactions in the U.S. each year are processed by companies with major Georgia operations, according to the American Transaction Processors Coalition. The industry employs more than 40,000 people in the state.

Worldpay US is based at Atlantic Station, where it has been expanding. In late 2014, Worldpay announced plans to move its local workforce — then with more than 600 employees — into the city of Atlanta from Sandy Springs, and to add 600 more jobs over a few years.

A message left for a Worldpay representative was not immediately returned. A spokesman for Vantiv declined to comment beyond the news release.

Worldpay is among a string of technology firms, including NCR, Sage Software and Equifax, to announce major expansions in Midtown in the past few years.

Georgia’s FinTech dominance might help insulate the Atlanta area from whatever happens as a result of the Worldpay deal, two other observers said.

Sean Banks, a partner at TTV Capital in Atlanta and chairman of the Technology Association of Georgia’s FinTech Society, said the merger would give Vantiv its second large Atlanta office, citing its acquisition this year of payments software business Paymetric.

“I believe Vantiv has looked at Atlanta as a strategic spot,” Banks said.

Payments firms have consolidated as margins in the business have gotten thinner, with companies seeking to add new lines of business to diversify their revenue streams, Banks said.

Larry Williams, CEO of the Technology Association of Georgia, said he’s optimistic Vantiv will see the value of Atlanta’s payments ecosystem, which includes a deep talent base and ties to major universities such as Georgia Tech.

“We have such strength in that area, I’m optimistic and hopeful that Vanitv will see how important it is they have a great foothold here and what being in Atlanta and being in Georgia brings them,” Williams said.

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