Worldpay deal raises questions for Global Payments, says JPMorgan

JPMorgan says the three-way transaction that includes GTCR and FIS (FIS) selling Worldpay at a value of $24.25B to Global Payments (GPN), and Global Payments selling Issuer Solution for $13.5B to FIS, is “unsurprising and makes strategic sense.” However, the timing is earlier than expected and raises questions for Global Payments, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan believes the deal will consume a lot of management energy at a time when competition is investing heavily in product innovation, “compounding concerns” that Global Payments “is being left behind on the product side.” The firm maintains a Neutral rating on Global Payments and Overweight rating on FIS.