Mark Carney joins bidding war for payments giant

A bidding war has erupted for Network International as takeover fever grips the city.

In the latest period of M&A activity, Canadian giant Brookfield Asset Management has made a £2.1 billion counter-offer for the FTSE 250 payments company.

Brookfield’s 400 pence-per-share proposal — chaired by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney — topped the 387 pence-per-share deal proposed by private equity groups CVC and Francisco Partners earlier this week.

Shares in Network International, the largest payment provider in the Middle East and Africa, rose 10.3 percent, or 37 pence, to 397 pence.

Brookfield’s approach puts Carney in the spotlight alongside City ringleader Sir Ron Kalifa, chairman of Network International and author of The Kalifa Review for the Government in 2021 on how to boost the UK fintech sector.

The 62-year-old was CEO of Worldpay for more than a decade and was knighted in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honors list in 2022 for his work supporting financial services and technology.

Carney, 58, joined Brookfield after leaving the Bank of England to become chairman last November. The group’s offer represents a 13 pence issuance premium to the joint approach of private equity consortium CVC and Francisco Partners, which Network said earlier this week it was “minded” to accept.

Both bids are below Network’s IPO price of 435p four years ago in what was then the largest IPO of a technology company on the London Stock Exchange since Worldpay’s £4.8 billion debut in 2015. The bidding war for Network International also comes at a time of frenzied interest in British companies as foreign suitors in particular are looking for bargains.

Earlier this week, embattled e-commerce retailer THG — formerly known as The Hut Group — revealed it has received a “very preliminary and non-binding indicative proposal” from New York-based Apollo Global Management. Oilfield service provider John Wood Group, real estate fund Industrial REIT and veterinary product manufacturer Dechra Pharmaceuticals have also been approached by private equity candidates.

Russ Mould, analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, said: ‘There seems to be no end to the appeal of UK listed companies to private equity firms. walking cycle is approaching its peak.

While UK investors may welcome outside approval that UK stocks are undervalued, and the potential for a rapid takeover return, seeing so many names disappear is not good for the long-term health of the London market .’

A large number of UK companies were busted in the wake of Covid-19, sending valuations plummeting in what has been dubbed ‘pandemic looting’.

Morrisons, G4S, Ultra Electronics and the AA were among the companies purchased.

Private equity buyers have been particularly active in recent years, fueling concerns that foreign firms are snapping up British companies on the cheap