It looks like ACI has been at least partly successful with their offer to acquire S1. Partly because the proposed merger between S1 and Fundtech is now history and ACI has averted the rise of an S1-Fundtech combination which would be an even bigger competitor than S1 is on their own right.
So what happens now? By the turn of events it appears that after the ACI offer turned hostile, both ACI and S1 are building up their S1 stock to get control of the company. The S1 board is fiercely fighting against this but, despite initial impressions, it's not going to be easy for S1 to maintain autonomy.
When the S1 stock jumped up a few notches, some sold and some bought. At the end, it appeared that it's not entirely clear if the S1 CEO can rally the shareholders to fight off the attempted ACI takeover. And with the shareholder meeting for the Fundtech merger cancelled, it remains to be seen who has the most votes.
The current situation is not exactly the best S1 hoped for. There is uncertainty amongst both existing and prospect customers, as well as resellers of S1 products. Will the S1 payments platform still be around a year from today? That is the important question here. Although not a betting man, I would be willing to bet that the current situation is hurting S1 financially. Prospect customers, especially those affected by the ACI sunset, would not feel comfortable by selecting S1 now and then find out that they'll be dealing with ACI again after a few months.
With things being what they are, a shadow of doubt is cast upon the S1 future. Even if ACI does nothing at the moment, no one can be sure that they're not just accumulating S1 stock and trying to convince the shareholders to back them up so they can force a change of the board members or reach an agreement with the board behind the scenes.
In that sense ACI has gained an advantage over S1, at least for now. S1 has to clear this mess as quickly as they can, especially during the year of the setting sun. Unless of course, the game ends with ACI managing to acquire their most serious competitor.
