Payments Company ACI Worldwide Considers Potential Sale

ACI Worldwide, the provider of real-time payments software, is in talks with private equity firms about a potential sale. However, given the volatile state of the leveraged finance market, it is not certain that ACI will close a deal.

ACI, which was founded in 1975 and has offices in 34 countries, generated revenue of $1.4 billion in 2021. ACI's shares had fallen 35% in the past year, rose as much as 14% for their biggest jump since March 2020. The stock closed up 13% to $26.11 in New York trading, giving it a market value of more than $2.9 billion.

ACI has long been viewed as ripe for a takeover because it's a relatively small player in an industry that's been consolidating for years.

For the quarter ending September 30, 2022, ACI delivered revenue of $307 million​, down 3%, or up 1% compared to Q3 2021 adjusted for FX and the divestiture of ACI's Corporate Online Banking division, which was completed in September 2022. Net adjusted EBITDA margin in Q3 2022 was 22%, or 21% adjusted for FX and the divestiture.

Source: Bloomberg