In re Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. Securities Litigation

Labaton Keller Sucharow serves as lead counsel in a securities class action against Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS or the Company).

On March 6, 2023, a securities class action lawsuit was filed against FIS and certain of its officers.  On April 28, 2023, Labaton Keller Sucharow filed a related securities class action lawsuit on behalf of its client, Nebraska Investment Council, against FIS and certain executives.  On June 8, 2023, the Court consolidated the two actions and appointed Nebraska Investment Council, North Carolina Retirement Systems, and North Carolina Supplemental Retirement Plans as Lead Plaintiffs and Labaton Keller Sucharow as Lead Counsel.

On August 8, 2023, Lead Plaintiffs filed a Consolidated Amended Complaint (the Complaint).  The Complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired FIS common stock between May 7, 2020, and February 10, 2023, inclusive (the Class Period).

The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants misled investors about the success of the Company’s $48 billion acquisition of Worldpay.  To justify the massive purchase price, Defendants told investors the combination of FIS and Worldpay would deliver significant revenue synergies based on the combined company’s ability to cross-sell each other’s products.  Throughout the Class Period, Defendants misleadingly touted their revenue synergies and cross-selling with Worldpay, leading investors to believe the acquisition was a roaring success when, in reality, it was an abject failure from the start.  But rather than come clean about the challenges Defendants faced integrating Worldpay and its corresponding decline in value, Defendants secretly tried to dispose of Worldpay to private equity firms at a substantially discounted price.  Furthermore, in violation of GAAP, Defendants failed to write down the value of Worldpay’s goodwill, despite knowing of several facts demonstrating that the asset was worth many billions less than what they publicly stated.

The full truth was revealed on February 10, 2023, when FIS was forced to take a massive $17.6 billion write-down on the value of Worldpay’s goodwill.  A few months later, FIS ultimately sold a majority stake of Worldpay for just $11.7 billion, a fraction of the Company’s $48 billion purchase price.

In a significant development, on September 30, 2024, the Court denied Defendants' motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed.  The Court reasoned that the Lead Plaintiffs “set forth detailed, particularized allegations giving rise to the reasonable inference that” Defendants misled investors about the success of the integration for years and engaged in fraudulent accounting conduct by failing to take a goodwill impairment charge earlier.  This ruling marks an important victory for the plaintiffs, as it affirms the strength of the allegations concerning FIS’s misrepresentations and omissions related to the Worldpay acquisition.  The case will now move forward into the discovery phase.

The consolidated case is In re Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 3:23-cv-252-TJC-PDB (M.D. Fla.).  Labaton Keller Sucharow represents Lead Plaintiffs Nebraska Investment Council, North Carolina Retirement Systems, and North Carolina Supplemental Retirement Plans.