Vantiv strengthen mobile capabilities

Leading payment processor Vantiv said it signed an agreement to acquire Litle & Co., a leading mobile payment processor in a deal valued at $361 million.

According to Vantiv president and CEO, Charles Drucker, the deal makes sense because e-commerce is one of the fastest growing segments of payments.

"As our clients continue to expand their online presence to meet their consumers’ demands, they rely on us to meet their payments needs through our integrated processing platform," Drucker said. "The acquisition of Litle & Co. will enable us to offer leading, integrated products in high growth markets, allowing our clients to engage with their customers across multiple channels, with better visibility and increased simplicity."

Drucker indicated that Litle & Co. has built a premier e-commerce product in the market, which is supported by a talented leadership team. The combination of the two companies is said to create a differentiated product offering that will enable Vantiv to rapidly capitalize on market opportunities.

"Today’s agreement represents the beginning of a new chapter in our company’s evolution," said Tom Litle, president and CEO of Litle & Co. "By partnering with Vantiv, we are able to accelerate the development and distribution of the value added services Litle & Co. is known for and drive payments intelligence deeper into the operations of the world’s leading eCommerce and multi-channel merchants."

The deal is expected to close later this year at which time Litle & Co. will become a subsidiary of Vantiv and will maintain its location in Lowell, Massachusetts. Vantiv is headquartered in Cincinnati.