Fifth Third disposes majority stake in processing unitOn June 30, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) sold a 51% stake in its processing business to Advent International, the leading global buyout firm. The deal is valued at $2.35 billion, before any valuation adjustments.The deal was announced in March this year. Fifth Third will retain the remaining 49% stake in the new company and will also keep its credit card issuing business, including retail credit card and commercial multi-card services.We are encouraged with this transaction, as it will enable Fifth Third to focus more on its core business while boosting its Tier 1 common equity.Fifth Third will realize a pre-tax gain of around $1.7 billion or $1.0 billion post-tax on the transaction. Approximately $1.2 billion will be contributed from this transaction to the bank's Tier 1 equity. ...