mind boggling numbers of transactions of First Da
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of First Data
Well over half of the $5.3 trillion in annual U.S. card spending was processed by Georgia-based firms, according to a Technology Association of Georgia report Sarvady co-authored. Now, “more than two-thirds of all credit, debit and other electronic transactions are running across rails of Georgia-based firms,” he said.
So despite possible staffing reductions, “I don’t think Fiserv’s acquisition of First Data will in any way hurt Atlanta,” adds Don Campbell, managing principal, RightCourse, an Atlanta payments advisor and TAG report co-author.
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Don Campbell, managing principal, RightCourse
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Like Sarvady, Campbell views the metro area being a payment processing hub as mitigating any initial negative fallout from the merger and Worldpay Inc.’s announcement that it was cutting 234 Atlanta-area jobs. “Once the initial turmoil plays out, things will settle down.”
According to Colliers International Atlanta data, Fiserv and First Data collectively occupy a little more than 1.1 million square feet of real estate in metro Atlanta.
These facilities include a 376,351-square-foot building in Alpharetta occupied by Fiserv. First Data’s facilities include two buildings totaling just under 560,000 square feet in Marietta; 192,912 square feet in the Glenridge Highlands II building in Central Perimeter; and small offices in Norcross andCumberland-Galleria.
It is difficult to predict what will happen to these locations after the merger, notes Ryan P. Bowie, senior vice president at ICON Commercial Interests.
“Large mergers and acquisitions like this often result, at least initially, in some consolidation of facilities, and it stands to reason that Fiserv will be looking all over the world to see if and where this kind of consolidation makes sense,” Bowie said.
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Ryan Bowie
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This could conceivably result in Fiserv cutting back on some space in Atlanta and putting it on the sublease market, notes Bowie; or, it could eventually result in an expansion in the metro area, “given all that we’ve got going on for us in terms of available tech talent in general, along with our existing base of fintech firms and Atlanta’s high profile in the payments industry.”
It could take 10 years to iron out integration issues resulting from the Fiserv-First Data merger, merchant-acquiring consultant The Strawhecker Group said.

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Aerial view of Fiserv's Alpharetta campus
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COMPANIES IN THIS ARTICLE
First Data Corporation
New York, NY
See full profile
Fiserv Inc.
Brookfield, WI
Information Technology Consultants
$5.7BRevenue
24,000Employees
See full profile
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