CD&R has teamed up with GTCR, Global Payments' largest shareholder, on a joint bid, the Financial Times reported. The shares gave back about half the jump within an hour, and no price has been reported.
Global Payments shares jumped on Friday on a report that its biggest shareholder is helping put together a bid to buy the whole company.
Private equity firm CD&R is looking to acquire the payment processor and has teamed up with GTCR, Global Payments' largest shareholder, on a joint bid, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The newspaper put the company's enterprise value at roughly $40 billion and said talks are ongoing and a deal may not materialize. CD&R declined to comment, and Global Payments had not commented by early afternoon.
The stock rose as much as 18% to $101.13, above its 52-week high of $100.98, shortly after the report surfaced at about 12:30 p.m. Eastern. It then gave back about half the move and was up about 10.4% at $94.63 at 1:42 p.m., on about 10.9 million shares. At that price the company's equity is worth about $25 billion. Listed payments peers were mostly flat to slightly higher in a market that was down nearly 2%.
How GTCR became the biggest holder
GTCR received 43,268,041 Global Payments shares, plus about $6.2 billion in cash, when Global Payments bought Worldpay in a deal that closed on Jan. 9, 2026. That stock gave GTCR 15.45% of the company at the time, according to its filing.
Under the shareholder agreement signed at closing, GTCR's shares unlock in stages: 35% after 12 months, another 15% after 15 months and the rest after 18 months.
The same agreement sets out how any takeover would have to proceed. While it owns more than 5%, GTCR agreed not to "enter, agree to enter, publicly propose or offer to enter into, or knowingly facilitate" a merger or change-of-control transaction "unless such transaction is affirmatively publicly recommended by the Board and there has otherwise been no breach" of the standstill. Under that clause, a completed deal involving GTCR would need the board's public recommendation. The report did not say whether the board has been approached, and nothing in the report or the filings indicates any breach.
What the fade says
An 18% spike that halves within the hour suggests investors see a meaningful chance of a deal but not a high one. There is no price, no confirmation from any party and an explicit caveat that talks could fail.
The bull reading: a well-funded sponsor is working with the holder that knows Worldpay best, a large block is already aligned with any bid, and the FT said a deal would likely include a premium. The stock is still up about 10% after the fade.
The skeptical reading: the report comes from one newspaper, financing a buyout of a company valued at roughly $40 billion would require a large debt package, and the agreement ties any transaction GTCR facilitates to the board's public recommendation.
What to watch
Any statement from Global Payments, CD&R or GTCR; any change to GTCR's ownership filing; and Global Payments' third-quarter results before the market opens on Nov. 5, with a call at 8 a.m. Eastern, where analysts are likely to ask about the report.