First Data deal has turned Fiserv into a big short
Post# of 82672
By Emily Bary
Published: Jul 24, 2019 7:27 am ET
Financial-services company now ranks above Visa with more tkookhan $5 billion in short interest
Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki
Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki
Once-sleepy Fiserv Inc. has become the top short play among payments and data-processing companies in the months since it announced an all-stock deal for First Data Corp.
Short interest in Fiserv FISV+2.33% was just $463 million before the company set out in January to acquire First Data FDC+2.64% in a deal valued at $22 billion. By the end of January, short interest had climbed to over $3 billion, according to analysts at S3 Partners, and it currently stands at $5.3 billion as bears continue to build their short positions.