M&A

The parent of Bell Bank said that the pending sale of Discovery Benefits is not a prelude to selling its bank.

The Iowa company will pay $94 million for a bank with five branches and $727 million in loans.

The Fiserv-First Data deal, valued at about $22 billion, will combine two of the financial services industry's largest technology and processing companies.

The numbers behind Fiserv's deal to acquire First Data are huge, particularly considering each company's existing tonnage still makes consolidation the best play when faced with nimble fintechs and mobile startups.

Fiserv will acquire First Data in an all-stock deal with a value of about $22 billion that will combine two of the financial services industry's largest technology and processing companies. Fiserv shareholders will own almost 58% of the combined company, with First Data's shareholders holding the rest. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2019.