Last week, FIS accelerated its plan to spin off Worldpay early next year by selling a controlling stake in the merchant acquiring titan to private equity firm GTCR. The deal knocks Worldpay’s valuation from the $43 billion FIS bought it for four years ago to only $18.5 billion. Now it’s time for Worldpay, still a leading merchant acquirer, to find a new way to succeed in an increasingly competitive merchant services space.

How did FIS’s blockbuster deal for Worldpay end like this? Where does it leave Worldpay and the broader merchant services industry? This Javelin Strategy & Research note analyzes why FIS is moving on from Worldpay, what comes next for Worldpay, and the ramifications this deal will have on the merchant services landscape.