Fiserv to acquire i_Tech Corp. from First Interstate for $40 million

Fiserv to acquire i_Tech Corp. from First Interstate for $40 million

Brookfield, Wis.Fiserv, Inc., a provider of information technology systems and services to the financial industry, has agreed to acquire i_Tech Corp. from First Interstate BancSystem for $40 million. The expected closing date is Dec. 31, 2008.
Representatives of Fiserv and First Interstate said the sale has been discussed for many years. Fiserv has had a relationship with both companies dating back more than 30 years.
As a licensee and reseller of the Fiserv’s core banking system in the northern Midwest and West, i_Tech has provided outsourced account processing services and complementary services such as EFT and check processing.
First Interstate BancSystem is a multi-state, $6 billion banking organization headquartered in Billings, Montana. First Interstate decided to sell i_Tech after concluding that Fiserv was in the best position to take its clients “to the next level.”
Lyle Knight, president and CEO of First Interstate BancSystem, said in a release that the decision to sell i_Tech was a strategic one based on long-term trends for bank data processing. “This was a difficult decision for us as i_Tech has been a member of the First Interstate family for many years. But the industry has changed,” he said. “Many banks are divesting themselves of their data processing operations.”
He noted that First Interstate is first, and foremost, a bank, not a data processor. “Our focus will continue to be on our community banking franchise,” he said.
Knight also said that with Fiserv, i_Tech will have access to the resources of a Fortune 500 company. Jeffery Yabuki, president and CEO of Fiserv, said the company’s suite of financial business systems would complement i_Tech’s services.
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