Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a U.S. private equity firm, is pursuing a deal to acquire Global Payments, the Atlanta-based payments technology company, in what could become one of the largest leveraged buyouts on record.
According to reporting by the FT citing people familiar with the matter, CD&R has joined forces with GTCR—Global Payments’ largest shareholder—to explore a joint bid that would take the publicly traded firm private.
Global Payments currently carries an enterprise value of roughly $40 billion, reflecting both its equity market capitalization and substantial net debt. As of the afternoon the report surfaced, the company’s market value stood near $23 billion with net debt exceeding $17 billion.
Shares of Global Payments rose more than 11% in afternoon trading on the news, reflecting investor hopes for a potential premium in any transaction.
Discussions remain at an early stage, and the parties have not reached a definitive agreement; the talks could still fail to produce a deal.
The interest from CD&R arrives against the backdrop of a major strategic shift by Global Payments in 2025.
That year, the company agreed to acquire rival payments processor Worldpay from GTCR and Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at more than $24 billion (with a reported net purchase price of about $22.7 billion).
Simultaneously, Global Payments sold its Issuer Solutions business to FIS for $13.5 billion.
The combination transformed Global Payments into a more focused pure-play merchant solutions provider, but it also increased the company’s debt load and drew criticism from some investors who had expected greater emphasis on capital returns and divestitures.
GTCR emerged from the Worldpay sale holding roughly 15% of Global Payments, making it the firm’s biggest outside shareholder and a natural partner in any take-private effort.
Analysts have described the reported interest as credible given GTCR’s significant stake, though they note that Global Payments’ heavy net debt could complicate financing, particularly in a higher-rate environment.
William Blair analysts, for example, observed that a completed transaction might signal broader consolidation in traditional fintech, potentially reducing the number of publicly traded pure-play payments processors.
CD&R declined to comment on the report, while Global Payments and GTCR did not immediately respond to inquiries from news organizations covering the development.
A successful buyout at the indicated scale would rank among the largest leveraged buyouts in history, testing appetite among banks and credit investors for the substantial debt required to fund such a transaction.
For CD&R, which manages tens of billions in assets and has been active in large-scale deals, partnering with an existing major shareholder could ease governance and financing hurdles.
Global Payments, which processes payments for millions of merchant locations worldwide across more than 175 countries, has seen its shares trade well below prior peaks following the Worldpay transaction, creating conditions that private equity buyers often view as attractive for take-private opportunities.
Whether the discussions advance to a formal proposal remains uncertain.
Any deal would likely require a premium to the prevailing share price and careful navigation of the company’s existing debt and integration priorities. Market participants are watching closely for further developments that could reshape ownership of one of the sector’s larger independent players.
