FleetCor Acquires Comdata for $3.45 Billion (Aug. 15, 2014)
Corporate payments provider Comdata Inc. has been acquired for $3.45 billion by FleetCor Technologies Inc., a global provider of fuel cards and other workforce payments. The deal brings Comdata’s 20,000 customers, 1,300 employees and $54 billion in payments under the umbrella of Norcross, Ga.-based FleetCor. Under terms of the deal, FleetCor will pay $2.4 billion in cash and $1 billion in common stock to Comdata’s parent company Ceridian LLC.
Set to close in December, subject to shareholder approval, the deal also gives FleetCor a presence in several new market segments, noted FleetCor Chairman & CEO Ron Clarke, during a conference call discussing the deal. Those verticals include on-the-road trucking, where Comdata is a market leading fuel card provider; a national accounts business, where Comdata provides a universal MasterCard; corporate payments; and gift cards, where Comdata’s SVS (Stored Value Systems) subsidiary provides processing and program management. Comdata’s virtual payments business also was a major attraction, according to Clarke. “Comdata’s got a great position, great proprietary technology, a pretty unique vendor-enrollment model and some great reseller relationships,” he said during the call.
The acquisition also could help FleetCor keep pace with WEX Inc., another major player in the fleet and corporate payment card arena, WEX Inc. Portland, Me.-based WEX has been beefing up its own offerings and entering new verticals over the past several years. In July, the company made a splash in the healthcare spending segment with its $532 million purchase of Evolution1.
Brentwood, Tenn.-based Comdata had announced plans for an IPO in April, but subsequently began entertaining sale offers as well after potential buyers approached the company, according to reports.
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