FDC: Fote Impact Felt Around Denver Community

"I think that Charlie had in mind establishing very deep roots in Colorado and to make this the permanent home of First Data," Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said Monday. "However, I think whenever you have a change in a CEO, typically the new one has some say where the company's headquarters is located. That possibility does cause concern to all of us."

Also in the Rocky Mountain News this morning, David Milstead reports on speculation that FDC might be split into several businesses in an effort to boost shareholder value.

"The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 priorities for me and the entire senior management team at First Data will be to create shareholder value in 2006 and beyond," Duques told analysts on a Monday-morning conference call.

First Data has three main businesses. Its money-transfer business, led by Western Union, is both the fastest-growing and the biggest, accounting for 40 percent of the company's sales and 50 percent of its operating profits in 2005.

Separately, Aldo Svaldi updates his story on Fote's retirement in this morning's Denver Post.