In brief: FIS changes its strategy and divests Worldpay

Less than four years after buying it for a record 43 billion dollars, the American FIS wants to separate itself from the payment service provider Worldpay. It failed to integrate the two entities.

Fidelity National Information Services, acquired Worldpay in 2019 to create one of the largest providers of underlying financial infrastructure to the banking payments industry.

FIS shares, which have lost more than half their market value since the company bought Worldpay, are down 12.5% to $66, giving it a market capitalisation of about $39 billion.

FIS, which has been under pressure to explore strategic options from activist investors D.E. Shaw Group and Jana Partners, pointing to a significant discount in its share price to peers such as Fiserv and Global Payments.

The FIS chairman added that "the pace of disruption in payments is accelerating rapidly, requiring increased investment in growth and a different capital allocation strategy for our Merchant Solutions business.