FIS is to buy Worldpay for $35 billion, in a blockbuster deal which exemplifies the trend towards large scale consolidation in the payments processing space.

As part of the deal, FIS will also assume Worldpay's debt obligations, bringing the total value of the agreement to $43 billion.

Upon closing, FIS shareholders will own approximately 53% and Worldpay shareholders 47% of the combined company.

Worldpay, which was formed in January last year through a takeover by Vantiv, processes over 40 billion transactions annually, supporting more than 300 payment types across more than 120 currencies.

The combined firm will serve the “high-growth e-commerce industry” and have combined revenue of about $12 billion.

“Scale matters in our rapidly changing industry,” states Gary Norcross, chairman, president and chief executive officer, FIS. “Upon closing later this year, our two powerhouse organisations will combine forces to offer a customer-driven combination of scale, global presence and the industry’s broadest range of global financial solutions."

The company is forecasting organic revenue growth outlook of between six and nine percent through 2021, in conjunction with $700 million of total Ebitda synergies over the next three years.

It marks the biggest deal by far in the fast consolidating payments industry, elcipsing Fiserv's $22 billion takeover of First Data in January.