CD&R and GTCR Team Up on Potential $40 Billion Take-Private Bid for Global Payments
CD&R and GTCR Team Up on Potential $40 Billion Take-Private Bid for Global Payments #
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is in talks to take Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) private in a deal that would rank among the largest leveraged buyouts on record, the Financial Times reported Friday.
CD&R has joined with GTCR, Global Payments’ largest outside shareholder, on a joint bid for the Atlanta-based payments processor. The company carries an enterprise value of about $40 billion, including debt. The talks are continuing and may not produce a transaction. GTCR and Global Payments did not respond to requests for comment; CD&R declined to comment.
Global Payments shares rose as much as 12% on Friday after the report. The company’s market capitalization is roughly $23 billion, with more than $17 billion in net debt making up the remainder of the enterprise value.
GTCR’s involvement in any buyout group stems from its existing position in Global Payments. The firm became the company’s largest outside shareholder when Global Payments completed its acquisition of Worldpay in January 2026, receiving about $6 billion in cash and approximately 42.8 million Global Payments shares in exchange for its Worldpay stake.
Global Payments has faced sustained shareholder pressure since the Worldpay deal was announced. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management built a position in the company and later secured two board seats through a co-operation agreement.
A successful take-private would remove Global Payments from public market scrutiny as it works to integrate Worldpay and reposition as a merchant-focused commerce solutions provider following the divestiture of its Issuer Solutions business to FIS. Whether CD&R and GTCR can agree on terms and secure financing for a transaction of that size has not been determined.
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