Mark Carney joins bidding war for payments giant

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

In just the latest bout of merger and acquisition activity, Canadian giant Brookfield Asset Management tabled a £2.1billion counter offer for the FTSE 250 payments firm.

The 400p a share proposal from Brookfield – where former Bank of England governor Mark Carney is chairman – topped the 387p a share deal proposed by private equity groups CVC and Francisco Partners earlier in the week.

Shares in Network International, which is the largest payment provider across the Middle East and Africa, rose 10.3 per cent, or 37p, to 397p.

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

The 62-year-old was chief executive of Worldpay for over ten years and knighted in 2022 in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honours list for his work supporting financial services and technology.

Carney, 58, joined Brookfield after he left the Bank of England, becoming chairman last November. The group’s offer represents a 13p a share premium on the joint approach from the private equity consortium CVC and Francisco Partners, which Network said earlier this week it was ‘minded’ to accept.

Both bids are below Network’s initial public offering price of 435p four years ago in what was then the largest flotation by a technology firm on the London Stock Exchange since Worldpay’s £4.8billion 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 look for bargains.

Earlier this week, embattled e-commerce retailer THG – previously known as The Hut Group – revealed it has received a ‘highly preliminary and non-binding indicative proposal’ from New York-based Apollo Global Management. Oilfield services provider John Wood Group, property fund Industrial REIT and veterinary products maker Dechra Pharmaceuticals have also been approached by private equity suitors.

Russ Mould, analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, said: ‘There appears to be no let-up in the appeal of UK-listed companies to private equity firms, the latter feeling flush as they eye a potential reduction in borrowing costs as the rate hiking cycle nears its peak.

‘While UK investors may welcome outside endorsement that the British shares are undervalued, and the potential for a quick return from a takeover, it is not good for the long-term health of the London market to see so many names disappearing.’

A host of British firms were snapped up after Covid-19 and sent valuations tumbling in what was dubbed ‘pandemic plundering’.

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

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