In a combination that will create an information and transaction processing services company with doing about $4,000m a year, First Data Corp, Hackensack, New Jersey is to acquire First Financial Management Corp for a whopping $6,600m – but that will be in shares. The combined company, trading under the First Data name, will have 36,000 employees and looks for over $400m net profit this year. First Data provides data processing and related services to the transaction card, payment instruments, mutual fund, teleservices, receivables and information management sectors, and First Financial, also based in Atlanta, is a major provider of merchant processing and related services, non-bank money transfers, health claims processing and cost containment services and data imaging services. First Data will offer 1.5859 shares for each First Financial.
