FIS Pays $120 Million for Mobile Payments Specialist mFoundry (Jan. 31, 2013)
Jan. 31, 2013
In a move intended to deepen its mobile payments offerings, banking and payments technology expert Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) today said it will pay $120 million to acquire mFoundry, the mobile banking app firm that helped devise Starbucks’ vaunted mobile payments operation, among others. The transaction will give FIS the remaining 78 percent of mFoundry that it did not already own. FIS already owned a 22 percent stake in mFoundry.
Analysts note the deal is part of a recent trend of mergers and acquisitions among companies that serve banks adding expertise from payments technology and platform developers, coinciding with ACI Worldwide’s acquisition of Online Resources Corp. and following Fiserv Inc.’s purchase earlier this month of Open Solutions Inc. While Larkspur, Calif.-based mFoundry has been a fast-rising star in mobile payments since its 2004 launch, the acquisition is not all that surprising to certain observers. FIS began beefing up its mobile resources in 2010 and buying mFoundry “re-emphasizes FIS’s commitment to the mobile channel,” David Albertazzi, a senior analyst with Aite Group, tells Paybefore.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based FIS said its acquisition enables it to reach “a broader client base,” while adding new customers among mFoundry’s 850 clients. “Consumers have adopted the mobile channel faster than any other delivery channel in existence,” said Gary Norcross, FIS president and chief operating officer.
The two companies have worked together for the last several years and merging “enables us to capitalize on new market opportunities and bring top-tier mobile capabilities to our combined client bases,” said Drew Sievers, mFoundry co-founder and CEO. FIS expects the deal to close at the end of the first quarter.
