Refine
Year of publication
- 2019 (2)
Document Type
Language
- English (2)
Has Fulltext
- yes (2)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2)
Keywords
- Company merger (2)
- Firmenfusion (2)
- Amazon.com Inc. (1)
- First Data Corp (1)
- Fiserv Inc (1)
- Whole Foods Market Inc. (1)
Amazon is entering the stationary food trade in the US on a large scale. The world's largest online retailer acquires the organic chain Whole Foods Market for around USD 13.6bn. It is by far the largest acquisition in the company's history only followed by its purchase of the video game streaming platform Twitch and the online pharmacy PillPack, each for approximately USD 1 bn. Amazon had put pressure on stationary retailers in recent years and has shown an increasing interest in getting involved in their own business. Amazon opened several bookstores and also drives plans for high-tech supermarkets, which can be operated by only few employees. The group has also been expanding in the fresh food trade and the insurance sector for some time.
Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) and First Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC) coannounced on Jan 16th an unanimous merger agreement under which Fiserv would acquire First Data in a pure-stock transaction. The merger would combine two well-established Fintech companies into one giant. For each share of First Data, a fixed exchange ratio of 0.303 Fiserv shares is agreed, for a total equity value of USD 22bn. After the close of the transaction, Fiserv shareholders will own 57.5% of the new combined company, and First Data shareholders will own 42.5% on a fully diluted basis. The pure stock transaction is intended to be tax-free to First Data shareholders. The transaction is slated to close in the second half of the year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.