Summary
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) filed an 8-K on March 15, 2019, to report on a significant divestiture. The company announced the exchange of its remaining 10,252,826 Class B Units of Worldpay Holding, LLC for an equivalent number of Class A common stock shares of Worldpay, Inc. These shares were then immediately sold in a transaction exempt from registration under Rule 144. This strategic move marks Fifth Third's complete exit from its ownership in Worldpay. The company anticipates recognizing a substantial pre-tax gain of approximately $565 million (or $445 million after tax) in the first quarter of 2019 from this sale. This divestiture is expected to conclude with settlement on March 18, 2019, impacting the bank's financial performance for the first quarter of 2019.
Key Highlights
- 1Fifth Third Bancorp completed the exchange of its remaining Worldpay Class B Units for Worldpay Class A common stock.
- 2The company subsequently sold all of its Worldpay Class A common stock.
- 3This transaction signifies Fifth Third's complete divestiture of its equity stake in Worldpay.
- 4A significant pre-tax gain of approximately $565 million is expected to be recognized in Q1 2019.
- 5The after-tax gain is estimated to be approximately $445 million.
- 6The transaction is expected to settle on March 18, 2019.
- 7Fifth Third will no longer beneficially own any equity securities of Worldpay after the sale.