From 2008 10K:
First Data Corporation (“FDC” or “the Company”) is a provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for merchants, financial institutions and card issuers globally and has operations in 36 countries, serving over 5.3 million merchant locations and over 2,000 card issuers and their customers. FDC was incorporated in Delaware in 1989 and was the subject of an initial public offering in connection with a spin-off from American Express in 1992. On September 24, 2007, the Company was acquired through a merger transaction (the “merger”) with an entity controlled by affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (“KKR”). The merger resulted in the equity of FDC becoming privately held. Details of the merger are more fully discussed in Note 2 of the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

The Company has acquired multiple domestic and international businesses over the last five years with the most significant acquisition being Concord EFS, Inc. (“Concord”) in 2004 which included the STAR Network. The Company completed its merger with Concord on February 26, 2004. The all-stock transaction resulted in a total purchase price of approximately $6.9 billion, including acquisition-related costs.

Spin-off of Western Union
On September 29, 2006, the Company separated its Western Union money transfer business into an independent, publicly traded company through a spin-off of 100% of Western Union to FDC shareholders in a transaction intended to qualify for tax-free treatment (“the spin-off”) giving the shareholders separate ownership interests in FDC and Western Union. For more information regarding the spin-off, refer to Note 19 of the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.