According to persons with knowledge of the situation, the company is collaborating with financial consultants as it evaluates takeover interest. Given how unstable the markets for leveraged finance are right now, it is uncertain whether ACI will achieve an agreement.
ACI's stock, which had dropped 35% in the previous year, is currently up as much as 14%, which would be the greatest gain since March 2020. In New York trading, the stock ended up 13% at USD 26.11, giving it a market value of about USD 2.9 billion.
When Starboard Value purchased a stake in the company and pressured it to sell, ACI hired a consultant to investigate a sale in 2020. Since coming to an agreement in 2021 that increased the number of independent directors on ACI's board by two, Starboard has started selling up its holdings.
ACI provides banks, merchants, and other clients with a variety of payment services, including a platform for managing in-person transactions and fraud-detection services.
It's become more difficult for potential suitors in any business to secure the funding required to finance any deal-making in the first place. As finance becomes limited, potential agreements worth more than USD 150 billion have either been delayed or abandoned.
There is no getting around the fact that funding conditions are far more difficult this year than they were in much of the world in 2021. Before investors can put their faith in the cause, target companies (startups and scale ups) must more clearly demonstrate profitability and growth possibilities.
ACI Worldwide is considered to be a prime target for a takeover since it is one of the smaller competitors in the payments industry and because there has been a lot of consolidation in the market recently.
When there are opportunities for evaluation, fintech investors have already become more selective, placing a greater emphasis on profitability and cash flow. A fintech must be able to present a clear, long-term plan for the financial viability of the business in the current environment.
ACI Worldwide successfully sold One Equity Partners, a venture capital firm, its corporate internet banking solutions for USD 100 million in September 2022. ACI claimed at the time that the change would allow it to concentrate more on priorities like its main business lines, which were developing more quickly.
In December 2022, ACI Worldwide was partnering with Axerve to augment ecommerce merchants in the UK, Europe, and the US with enhanced payment orchestration. By offering businesses better payment orchestration and fraud prevention services, the alliance hopes to increase payment acceptance, enhance payment security, and eventually increase conversion rates and revenue.
Another collaboration initiated in December is the one with BI-FAST. This one includes direct debit, bulk credit, and Request-to-Pay services. The participants will be able to connect to BI-FAST using real-time payment solutions from ACI Worldwide. The Indonesian payment ecosystem will benefit from this, and the cost-effectiveness of the infrastructure will rise.
For more information about ACI Worldwide, please check out the company profile in The Paypers Company Database.
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