STRATEGIC PARTNERS
May 7, 2001
ATLANTA --U.S. Bancorp, the nation's eighth largest financial services holding company, announced plans to buy NOVA Corp., the country's third-largest payment processor. The stock and cash deal is worth $2.1 billion.
The acquisition of Atlanta-based NOVA will make U.S. Bancorp the third largest processor of credit and debit card transactions, with more than $100 billion in processing volume this year.
U.S. Bancorp bank operations operate as Firststar Banks and U.S. Bank. The company, based in Minneapolis, has $160 billion in assets.
NOVA processes payments for about 560,000 small to medium size businesses, while U.S. Bancorp does the same for 90,000 larger merchants and airlines.
NOVA will retain its name and become a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, led by Edward Grzedzinski, NOVA chairman, president and chief executive. Grzedzinski will become a U.S. Bancorp vice chairman and report to Jerry A. Grundhofer, U.S. Bancorp's president and chief executive.
NOVA shareholders still must approve the sale, which the companies expect to close in the third quarter of 2001.
