Electronic payment firm sold for $4.4 billion
When CheckFree Corp., the online payment company, moved to Norcross in 1996 and established its headquarters here, county economic development officials hoped it would be a wave of high-tech relocations bringing high-paying jobs to Gwinnett.
Now it's unclear what the future holds for the company's presence here after CheckFree was purchased last month by Brookfield, Wisc.-based FiServ Inc. for $4.4 billion. The all-cash deal is expected to be finalized in December.
Gwinnett's economic development community has made attracting and retaining corporate headquarters a major goal. Sheryl Roehl, a spokeswoman for CheckFree, said no decisions regarding CheckFree's Norcross campus have been announced.
The company did issue a statement, though, signaling that FiServ's expertise in financial management software mean there won't be large-scale redundancies once CheckFree's electronic payment business units are absorbed.
"There are strong market synergies between CheckFree and FiServ, but few overlapping product areas," the company says. "We anticipate the combination will provide multiple opportunities for growth and efficiency. Over the next couple of months, transition plans will be finalized and we will be focusing on retaining the best talent for the business moving forward."
CheckFree currently has 950 employees in metro Atlanta and 4,400 employees worldwide.
CEO Peter Kight says the acquisition will give FiServ opportunities to merge its software business with CheckFree's services in online banking and e-commerce. FiServ expects to realize more than $100 million in annual cost savings as well as see a boost to its 2008 earnings.
"By joining our complementary technology and capabilities with FiServ and its unparalleled footprint, this new combined entity will broaden FiServ's offerings to customers worldwide," he says. "It will significantly accelerate the delivery of next-generation services to financial institutions and their customers. CheckFree's broad range of offerings will also enable FiServ to round out its ability to deliver solutions that address the challenges of an evolving U.S. payments landscape and help facilitate the growth of the managed accounts industry."
CheckFree was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1981. In 1995 it acquired SSI and moved its headquarters to that company's campus in Norcross. CheckFree has three main units centered around electronic commerce, investment services and software. Its electronic payment services process more than one billion transactions per year and the company serves 21 of the top 25 financial institutions in the U.S.
Until recently, CheckFree itself was growing through acquisitions, having purchased HelioGraph Ltd. for $18.3 million in 2005.
Kight will join FiServ and serve on its board of directors. Under terms of the agreement, CheckFree shareholders will receive $48 in cash for each share of common stock.
The transaction is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2007, subject to regulatory approvals, approval by the CheckFree shareholders and customary closing conditions. After closing, the combined company will have pro-forma revenue of about $6 billion and employ more than 27,000 associates worldwide.
