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Global Payments Inc. and United Kingdom-based HSBC Bank Plc today announced a joint venture to provide payment-processing services to merchants in the United Kingdom and to Internet merchants. The Atlanta-based transaction processor will pay HSBC $439 million in cash to acquire a 51% majority ownership in the joint venture, which will operate under the name HSBC Merchant Services, according to the companies. HSBC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings Plc, will control the remaining 49% and will contribute its existing merchant-acquiring business in the UK to the joint venture. HSBC's UK acquiring business generated approximately $229 million in revenue in 2007, the company says. Also, HSBC has agreed to a 10-year marketing deal in which it will refer customers to the joint venture for payment-processing services in the UK. The companies expect to complete the transaction within two months. In 2005, Global Payments and HSBC formed a joint venture in the Asia-Pacific region in which Global Payments paid the bank $67.2 million in cash to acquire a 56% ownership in the venture, with HSBC owning the remaining 44%. HSBC also contributed its existing Asia-Pacific merchant-acquiring channel in 10 countries and territories to the joint venture (CardLine, 9/13/05).
