Global Payments Divests Payroll Unit to Acrisure for $1.1 Billion

Payment tech company Global Payments is selling its payroll business for $1.1 billion.

Global Payments will divest payroll operations to Michigan-based FinTech Acrisure, according to a Wednesday (May 28) press release.

“The divestiture of its payroll business is the latest step Global Payments has taken to further simplify its business and position the company as a leading pure-play commerce solutions provider for merchants of all sizes,” the release said.

Last month, Global Payments announced agreements to divest its issuer solutions business and acquire Worldpay, while also closing its sale of AdvancedMD, per the release.

“I am pleased with the progress we are making with our transformation program as we move aggressively to simplify our business and enhance value for shareholders,” Global Payments CEO Cameron Bready said in the release. “This transaction further sharpens our strategic focus and allows us to amplify investment in the markets and solutions where we are most differentiated, while also positioning the payroll business to benefit from greater scale and investment moving forward.”

As part of the deal, Global Payments formed a long-term commercial partnership with Acrisure in which it will continue providing human capital management and payroll offerings to its merchant customers as part of its suite of commerce enablement products, according to the release.

The company will use the proceeds from the divestiture to return capital to shareholders. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year, the release said.

“There is still a lot left to 2025, but we do see growing potential that a bull case eventually can emerge for Global Payments in 2026 based on where the stock’s currently trading and the moves in recent months,” Seaport analyst Jeff Cantwell said, according to a Wednesday Reuters report.

PYMNTS this month described Global Payments’ $22.7 billion acquisition of Worldpay as “a move that is expected to shake up the competitive dynamics in merchant services and payments technology.”

The acquisition will see Global Payments divest its issuer solutions business to FIS for $13.5 billion. The combined entity will serve more than 6 million customers across 175 countries, processing $3.7 trillion in yearly payment volume and 94 billion transactions — a scale that places the company among the largest payment processors.

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