Finance
Payments firm Corpay to buy UK's Alpha Group in $2.2 billion private markets push
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Corpay acquires Alpha Group for $2.2 billion to expand in private markets, enhancing cross-border solutions and boosting European presence.
By Arasu Kannagi Basil
(Reuters) -Corpay will buy British peer Alpha Group in a $2.2 billion (1.6 billion pounds) cash deal, the U.S.-based business payments firm said on Wednesday, to expand in the fast-growing private markets.
The private markets business is gaining traction globally as institutional investor clients seek more efficient and tech-enabled services.
Alpha, which holds about $3 billion of deposits in more than 7,000 client accounts, pioneered alternative bank accounts for investment managers and the acquisition will help the Atlanta-based company boost its presence in Europe.
"The banking account product and Alpha's technology extend our cross-border solution set and further diversify our revenue streams," said Corpay CEO Ron Clarke.
Roughly two-thirds of the UK-based company's revenue comes from the private markets and institutional funds vertical, Corpay executives said.
Its corporate foreign-exchange business will also strengthen Corpay's cross-border business in the UK and Europe and open up new markets in Germany, Malta and the Netherlands, executives said.
Alpha shareholders will receive 4,250 pence per share, representing a 55% premium to the closing price on May 1, a day before possible takeover talks were disclosed.
Shares of Alpha, which rejected the May proposal, jumped 25.3% to 4,155 pence. Corpay rose 0.7%.
The transaction is expected to boost Corpay's 2026 earnings per share by at least 50 cents and push its corporate payments revenue north of $2 billion next year.
Alpha's founder Morgan Tillbrook, who is the company's largest shareholder with a 12% stake, has agreed to support the transaction.
Corpay expects to fund the deal, likely to close in the fourth quarter, through a mix of cash, debt and non-core divestitures.
Oppenheimer Europe and Jones Day advised Corpay on the deal.
($1 = 0.7387 pounds)
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
Corpay will acquire Alpha Group in a cash deal valued at $2.2 billion.
The acquisition will extend Corpay's cross-border solution set and diversify its revenue streams, particularly in the private markets.
Approximately two-thirds of Alpha Group's revenue is derived from the private markets and institutional funds vertical.
The transaction is anticipated to boost Corpay's earnings per share by at least 50 cents by 2026.
Oppenheimer Europe and Jones Day provided advisory services to Corpay for the deal.
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