Monday, April 2, 2007

First Data Shopped to KKR for $29B

First Data Corp. will be acquired by an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., First Data announced Monday. According to First Data, the transaction is worth approximately $29 billion. First Data shareholders will receive $34 in cash for each share of common stock, a 26-percent premium compared to First Data's last closing share price of $26.90 and some 34 percent more than the average closing share price during the previous 30 trading days. First Data, which provides electronic commerce and payment services for some 1,900 card issuers and their 4.9 million merchant locations, is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Discounting the recently spun-off subsidiary, Western Union, First Data has grown from $1.2 billion in annual revenues to some $7.1 billion. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. is a private equity firm that specializes in management buyouts.