Former First Data Corp. executive John Shlonsky, who took over this week as president and chief executive of TransFirst LLC, says he plans to lead the Dallas-based transaction processor into a wide array of new markets with backing from the company's new owner, private-equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. …

Private-equity financing continued to make itself felt this week in the transaction-processing business, with Blackstone Capital Partners VLP's $7.8 billion bid for Alliance Data Systems Corp. and GTCR Golder Rauner LLC's decision to sell TransFirst LLC to an even bigger investment house, Welsh, Carson, Anderson, & Stowe, for $683 million. …

Iron Triangle Payment Systems LLC, a 3-year-old Louisville, Ky.-based processor that has been steadily pursuing plans to build an acquiring business by buying independent sales organizations, on Friday announced it is taking over the ISO business belonging to BA Merchant Services Inc. for an undisclosed sum. By adding the business, …

Retriever Payment Systems Inc., a Houston-based independent sales organization, announced today its longtime president and chief executive, William H. Higgins, is stepping down and will be replaced by Thomas A. Wimsett, chief executive of Iron Triangle Payment Systems. Iron Triangle, Louisville, Ky., acquired Retriever earlier this year. Higgins will remain …

Dallas-based processor TransFirst, which has completed two major acquisitions in the past month that have more than doubled the company's size, is taking a break from the M&A game, but not one that will last long. “It'll be two to three months before another acquisition,” Mark Travis, chief financial officer …

TransFirst, a Dallas-based processor, today announced it is forming a new division to focus on alliances with independent sales organizations. The new unit, called TransFirst Independent Sales Services, is headed by Nancy Newton, who holds the title of president of the division. Newton is a former Compass Bank and Paymentech …