Consolidation
Continues
On May 13, 1998
First Data announced that it had received clearance from the
Department of Justice under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvement Act of 1976 for its proposed acquisitions of Paymentech,
Inc., adding to its already dominant position in the bankcard
acquiring marketplace. No one really expected any other answer from
the Justice Department, but then stranger things have
happened.
So with Paymentech
now officially part of First Data and Nova busy digesting all of the
PMT organizations, can we expect to see consolidation slow down? Our
answer would be no. In fact, due to some accounting changes, which
may be coming (see next story), the next eighteen months could be
very busy indeed.
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