Dive Brief:
- Payments processing giant Fiserv has agreed to buy out the half of Dublin, Ireland-based AIB Merchant Services that it doesn’t already own, a Fiserv news release said Friday.
- The move to purchase that 49.9% ownership stake is intended in part to increase the foothold for Fiserv’s small business focused point-of-sale service Clover, in Europe, the release said.
- The transaction is "focused on driving continued growth in Ireland and the broader European market," the release said.
Dive Insight:
AIB Merchant Services (AIBMS) was created in 2007 as part of a joint venture with the Irish financial services company AIB Group. Milwaukee-based Fiserv will now take full ownership of the unit.
Analysts at the financial firm Robert W. Baird estimated the AIB joint venture's annual revenue at between $250 to $280 million, with profit of nearly $80 million, according to a Friday note to clients.
AIB Merchant Services provides payment solutions and merchant acquiring services, the release said. The business has become one of the largest payments software providers in Ireland and one of the biggest e-commerce acquirers in Europe, the release asserted.
AIB Group will continue to refer customers who require merchant acquiring services to Fiserv and AIBMS, according to the news release.
"We are particularly excited for the opportunity to accelerate the local penetration and growth of Clover," Katia Karpova, head of the European region for Fiserv, said in the news release.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, according to the release.
