Vantiv Set to Buy Worldpay?

Worldpay, for those not already familiar, is a payment processor that’s been trading on the London Stock Exchange for quite some time now. Recently, speculation has taken up residence, suggesting that Worldpay might be ripe for a buyout. Now, that speculation has taken on new life with reports that Vantiv has its eye on Worldpay, and has entered very early talks to purchase the company.

It’s a deal that many have wondered if it wouldn’t come to pass after all, and with good reason. With Worldpay under Vantiv’s wing, Vantiv would add a whole new international array to its operations and get a new edge in the e-commerce field.

Plus, it would also land something of an edge over JPMorgan Chase, who was also rumored to be in the hunt for Worldpay. Chase was doing well with US ecommerce operations, but picking up Worldpay would have let it step up to be a major force all over the world.

There would be several other advantages for Vantiv here, reports noted, including an improved volume mix—Vantiv already got a taste of this when it took some payment processing duties over from Netflix—that would likely yield greater revenue growth as well. Since Vantiv only saw 11 percent net revenue growth in 2016, according to reports, while Worldpay’s ecommerce revenue growth hit double that in the same year, it’s safe to say Vantiv might want a piece of that action.

Even casual observers in this field know that ecommerce and mobile payments options are on the rise, and delivering value on several major fronts. Having a hand in that particular till could be a big profit generator for Vantiv, which already has at least some skin in this game.

While it might not be as easy as the company hopes, especially if JPMorgan Chase decides to get in on a large-scale bidding war, having Worldpay in its corner could both improve revenue and presence, which could open up new opportunities for Vantiv in the process going forward.

This may not work out the way Vantiv likely hopes it will, but if Vantiv walks away with Worldpay in its fold, it could be the start of something great.