First Data Corp., TCH Announce Joint Venture

Electronic payment firms First Data Corp. and Transportation Clearing House LLC have announced plans to create a joint venture company.

The statement said First Data’s EFS Transportation Services fuel card business will be merged with similar offerings by TCH, Ogden, Utah.

Ed Labry, president of First Data North America, said in a statement that in anticipation of this venture, TCH hired Scott Phillips as its CEO.

“Outside of the obvious strategic benefits of combining these two highly complementary cultures, this merger will allow us to further accelerate the transformation of the payments landscape for our Industry,” Phillips said in a statement.

The parties said they anticipate completing the deal in the middle of the fourth quarter.