One payments company and four investor groups remain in the running for RBS WorldPay Inc., the merchant-services division of United Kingdom-based Royal Bank of Scotland, according to a source with knowledge of the process.
Toronto-based Moneris Solutions is the sole payments company on the short list for the bank’s global merchant services business, which generated $814 million (527 million pounds or 611 million euros) in revenue in 2009 with net income of $384.6 million.
Other bidders include investment firms TPG Capital of Fort Worth, Texas; Warburg Pincus LLC of New York; CVC Capital Partners of London; and a partnership between Bain Capital LLC and Advent International Corp., both based in Boston.
RBS said in November it would divest its WorldPay unit as a condition of participating in the UK government’s Asset Protection Scheme.
Bidders are vying for WorldPay’s operations in all regions of the world, says the person close to the deal. The most likely scenario is that the business will sell as a whole.
Bidders are conducting their due diligence now, a process that could take up to eight weeks. Negotiations would follow, with a deal possible early in the second half of the year, the source says.
