Last week Fiserv completed its acquisition of CheckFree for approximately $4.4 billion in cash, or $48 per share. The transaction was funded with a combination of debt instruments, including $2.5 billion in proceeds from a 5 year term loan, $1.75 billion in proceeds from publicly issued 5 and 10 year notes, and proceeds from its credit facilities. Fiserv finished the week up 4.63% to $53.71.

CheckFree has been replaced in the Finextra50 index by Metavante, the financial services processor and provider of banking and payments software that began trading on the NYSE in early November. The company was spun off from its parent company Marshall & Ilsley (M&I) Corporation through a share issuance to M&I shareholders, althought private equity firm Warburg Pincus took a 25% stake in the company for $625 million. Metavante shares have held fairly steady since the listing, closing last week at $24.35 after commencing trading in early November at $24.9

Major gainers
Last week's best performing index constituent was UK-based software vendor Microgen, which closed Friday up 37.14% on the week previous to 48.00p. The firm said it is on track to achieve or exceed its full-year expectations, with a significant contribution from its Aptitude product line.

Microgen expects to report operating margins, before goodwill and intangible impairment/amortisation and exceptional items, in line or ahead of its target of 15%. The company has also sold its long-leasehold property in London for £2.05 million before costs, and last Wednesday chairman Martyn Ratcliffe announced he had bought 210,000 shares in three tranches, lifting his stake in the company to around 5.02 million shares or 4.88%. The shares were bought between 40 and 42p a share.

Indian fintech firms also had a good week, with Nucleus Software performing the best, finishing up 22.3% to Rs390.15. Polaris Software labs were up 14.11% to Rs124.50 and outsourcing specialist Firstsource was up 9.77% to Rs72.00.

Vasco Data Security also had a good week, ending up 12.92% to $25.34 after Friedman Billings Ramsey became the fourth analyst firm in recent weeks to upgrade the network security products maker, saying its stock had been oversold after missing Wall Street estimates last quarter and predicting a strong fourth quarter.

Major losers
It was a good or neutral week for most Finextra50 constituents. But outside the US market there were a few significant falls. IRESS Market Technology saw the biggest of these, ending the week down 8.65% to AUD$7.81, reversing the gains the stock had seen the previous week after news that ASX had upped its stake in the software firm.


Other significant fallers last week were:

• Fidessa, down 8.05% to 880.00p (after hitting a 52-week low of 872 on Tursday)
  
• EDB Business Partner Norge, down 5.81% to Nkr40.50
  
• Software Solution Partnership, down 5.76% to 139.00p
  
• Linedata Services, down 5.53% to EUR11.95
  
• Misys, down 5.1% to 190.75p,