Investment in Unconsolidated Affiliate

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Investment in Unconsolidated Affiliate

Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates

The Company maintains investments in various affiliates that are accounted for as equity method investments, the most significant of which are related to the Company’s merchant alliances. The Company’s share of net income or loss from these investments is reported within income from investments in unconsolidated affiliates and the related tax expense or benefit is reported within the income tax provision in the consolidated statements of income.

Merchant Alliances

The Company maintains ownership interests of significant influence in various merchant alliances. A merchant alliance is an agreement between the Company and a financial institution that combines the processing capabilities and management expertise of the Company with the visibility and distribution channel of the financial institution. A merchant alliance acquires credit and debit card transactions from merchants. The Company provides processing and other services to the alliance and charges fees to the alliance primarily based on contractual pricing (see Note 20). The Company’s investment in its merchant alliances was $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is reported within investments in unconsolidated affiliates in the consolidated balance sheets.

Other Equity Method Investments

Following the sale of a controlling financial interest of the Investment Services business during the first quarter of 2020 (see Note 4), the Company’s remaining ownership interest in the business, subsequently renamed as InvestCloud, was accounted for as an equity method investment prior to the sale of the Company’s entire remaining ownership interest during the second quarter of 2021. The Company also maintains a 45% ownership interest in Sagent M&C, LLC and a 31% ownership interest in defi SOLUTIONS Group, LLC (collectively, the “Lending Joint Ventures”), which are accounted for as equity method investments. The Company’s aggregate investment in these entities was $25 million and $212 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is reported within investments in unconsolidated affiliates in the consolidated balance sheets. In addition, the Company maintains other strategic investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting. The Company's aggregate investment in such entities was $266 million and $192 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and is reported within investments in unconsolidated affiliates in the consolidated balance sheets.

The Lending Joint Ventures maintain variable-rate term loan facilities with aggregate outstanding borrowings of $365 million in senior unsecured debt and variable-rate revolving credit facilities with an aggregate borrowing capacity of $45 million with a syndicate of banks, which mature in March 2023. Outstanding borrowings on the revolving credit facilities at December 31, 2021 were $16 million. The Company has guaranteed this debt of the Lending Joint Ventures and does not anticipate that the Lending Joint Ventures will fail to fulfill their debt obligations. See Note 10 for additional information regarding the Company’s debt guarantee arrangements with the Lending Joint Ventures.

In August 2019, the Company’s Sagent Auto, LLC joint venture completed a merger with a third party, resulting in a dilution of the Company’s ownership interest in the combined entity, defi SOLUTIONS Group, LLC. The Company recognized a pre-tax gain of $14 million within income from investments in unconsolidated affiliates, with the related tax expense of $3 million recorded through the income tax provision, in the consolidated statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2019, reflecting the Company’s 31% ownership interest.

The Company classifies distributions from its investments accounted for using the equity method in the consolidated statements of cash flows using the cumulative earnings approach. Under this approach, distributions received from unconsolidated affiliates are classified as cash flows from operating activities to the extent that the cumulative distributions do not exceed the cumulative earnings on the investment. To the extent the current period distribution exceeds the cumulative earnings on the investment, the distribution is considered a return of investment and is classified as cash flows from investing activities. The Company received cash distributions from unconsolidated affiliates of $149 million, $151 million and $136 million, of which $115 million, $109 million and $113 million were recorded as cash flows from investing activities in the Company’s consolidated statements of cash flows during 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The Company also maintains investments, of which it does not have significant influence, in various equity securities without a readily determinable fair value. Such investments totaled $113 million and $160 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and are included within other long-term assets in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company reviews these investments each reporting period to determine whether an impairment or observable price change for the investment has occurred. To the extent such events or changes occur, the Company evaluates the fair value compared to its cost basis in the investment. Gains or losses from a sale of these investments or a change in fair value are included within other income (expense) in the consolidated statements of income for the period. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company remeasured its equity interest in Ondot to fair value upon the acquisition of the remaining ownership interest, resulting in the recognition of a pre-tax gain of $12 million (see Note 4). Other adjustments made to the values recorded for certain equity securities and gains and losses from sales of equity securities during 2021, 2020 and 2019 were not significant.