Corpay to acquire FTSE 250 fintech alpha group for £1.8bn
Shares in the FTSE 250 payments company soared more than 25 per cent after bosses recommended that investors back a sweetened 4250p-per-share offer. The deal comes amid a mounting crisis as a takeover frenzy accelerates.
Research from broker Peel Hunt shows the UK is on course for the biggest year of takeovers since 2021, after £74billion of offers in the first half of 2025. Scientific testing firm Spectris has agreed to be bought by American private equity firm KKR for £4.7billion in the biggest deal of the year after a bidding war with Advent International.
US semiconductor group Qualcomm is to buy British chipmaker Alphawave for £1.8billion and Deliveroo was swooped on by DoorDash with a £2.9billion offer. Another takeover battle saw Primary Health Properties beat KKR to buy GP surgery owner Assura for £1.8billion. And companies are switching listings to New York, with fintech darling Wise the latest planning to defect.
Meanwhile, a lack of fresh listings through initial public offerings means they are not being replaced. Alpha turned down Corpay's initial £1.2billion offer in May but, after talks, the latest bid is a 55 per cent premium to Alpha's undisturbed share price of 2745p on May 1, before news of the takeover interest became public. Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: 'The market completely misjudged how much Corpay would offer, judging by the share price jump on the formal bid.'
'While the shares enjoyed a little bump on the initial approach, the market didn't price in a successful bid. The fact Alpha rejected a proposal made it clear to Corpay that it would have to dig a lot deeper or walk away. It got the message loud and clear and Corpay looks to have gone in with its best offer. The 55 per cent bid premium is much more generous than the 40 per cent average seen across UK-listed takeovers so far in 2025,' Coatsworth said.
Corpay, an S&P 500 company with a market capitalisation of around £17billion, has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Following the sale, Alpha will continue to be based in London. But there could be 'possible role overlaps' in some administrative and head office functions, the companies have warned.
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