Global Payments to Buy Heartland for $4.3 Billion

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/global-payments-to-buy-heartland-for-43-billion-a-8753

By Tracy Kitten
@FraudBlogger
Bank Info Security
December 16, 2015

Two leading payments processors that each suffered massive data breaches 
are consolidating. Atlanta-based Global Payments Inc. plans to buy its 
smaller rival, Princeton, N.J.-based Heartland Payment Systems Inc., for 
$4.3 billion.

The deal that is expected to close during the fiscal fourth quarter ending 
May 31, 2016.

Industry observers are weighing in on whether the merged companies will 
successfully build a strong culture of security.

"Heartland really took its breach to heart and was one of the best 
examples of how to learn from such an event and turn it into a leadership 
opportunity," says Al Pascual, director of fraud and security at Javelin 
Strategy & Research. "I give the CEO [Bob Carr] a lot of credit for that. 
Global Payments was quite the opposite, with one of the least transparent 
breach events in the payments industry. I'm hoping the security culture of 
Heartland becomes the dominant one."

But Tom Wills, managing director of payments security consultancy Secure 
Strategies, says it could be difficult for the new company created through 
the merger to improve security.

[...]



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