Payments provider Network International said on Monday it received a takeover proposal from a consortium of CVC Capital and Francisco Partners, valuing the London-listed company at about 2.06 billion pounds ($2.56 billion).

The proposal, which Network International said might be recommended by the board, is for 387 pence per share – a premium of 27.7% to Network’s last closing price.

Network International, which is the largest payment processing firm across Middle East and Africa, said the new proposal comes “after a series of prior ones were rejected.”

The company’s shares have struggled to recover since 2020, when investors became concerned about its acquisition of African rival DPO Group over links with Wirecard, the German payments giant that imploded due to an accounting scandal.

The board has also agreed to provide the consortium access to confirmatory due diligence, the company said. ($1=0.8053 pounds).

Reuters