Finance: Worldpay shares drop sharply on its £9.1 billion merger with Vantiv

The deal comes less than a day after Worldpay confirmed separate takeover bids takeover approaches from JPMorgan Chase Bank and Vantiv.

LONDON — Payment processing firm Worldpay has agreed a preliminary deal to be taken over by payment processing giant Vantiv on Wednesday that values the company at £9.1 billion.

"The boards of directors (the "Boards") of Worldpay Group plc ("Worldpay") and Vantiv, Inc. ("Vantiv") are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement in principle on the key terms of a potential merger of Worldpay and Vantiv (the "Potential Merger" to form the "Combined Group")," a statement released to the London Stock Exchange said.

The deal comes less than a day after Worldpay confirmed separate takeover bids from JPMorgan Chase Bank and Vantiv.

Worldpay shares were up 4.66% at 11.00 a.m. BST (6 a.m. ET) following gains of nearly 25% on Tuesday, but have fallen sharply since the announcement, and are trading only marginally above their opening price as of 12.55 p.m. BST (7.55 a.m. ET). Here is the chart:

Under the terms of the deal, Worldpay shareholders will receive £0.55 for every share they own, as well as 0.0672 new Vantiv shares.

The offer represents "a premium of approximately 18.9% to the closing Worldpay Share price on 3 July 2017," the statement to the markets said.

Vantiv is being advised by Morgan Stanley on the deal, which will see Worldpay's shares delisted from the FTSE 100. The company was initially listed two years ago and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It provides payment services for point of sale transactions, and internet and mail order retailers.

JPMorgan's offer was a cash takeover deal which would value the firm above its share price before yesterday's surge.

Danish card payment services firm Nets A/S also said over the weekend it had been approached by potential buyers.

The deal comes less than a day after Worldpay confirmed separate takeover bids takeover approaches from JPMorgan Chase Bank and Vantiv. Read Full Story