Microsoft Wins Big in CheckFree Deal

NORCROSS, Ga. – Microsoft Corp. stands to be the biggest winner of the pending $48-a-share takeover of CheckFree Corp. by Fiserv, earning an estimated $415 million on 8.6 million CheckFree shares it holds, a proxy for the pending deal disclosed yesterday. Microsoft obtained the shares as part of the 2000 sale of Transpoint electronics bill payments provider to CheckFree. Transpoint was owned jointly by Microsoft and First Data Corp. After Microsoft, the biggest winner will be CheckFree founder and CEO Peter Kight, who stands to earn approximately $300 million from his 7% stake in the company. Kight and three other top executives have signed retention contracts with Fiserv to stay on and continue managing CheckFree after completion of the deal. CheckFree shareholders are scheduled to vote Oct. 23 on the deal, valued at about $4.2 billion, including the assumption of debt.