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UK Competition Watchdog Opens Inquiry Into Global Payments’ $24 Billion Deal for Worldpay

By  |  September 16, 2025
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The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially opened an investigation into Global Payments’ planned acquisition of Worldpay, marking a new phase of scrutiny for the multibillion-dollar tie-up. According to Investing.com, the regulator confirmed Tuesday that the merger notice submitted by the firms satisfies the requirements of the Enterprise Act 2002.

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    The statutory review will begin on September 17, and the CMA must decide by November 11 whether to clear the deal or escalate the matter to an in-depth Phase 2 probe. This development follows an earlier move in July, when the authority issued only a preliminary request for public input, stressing that no formal inquiry had yet begun.

    Global Payments, headquartered in Atlanta, reached an agreement in April to purchase Worldpay from Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) and private equity firm GTCR. Per a statement from the companies, the net purchase price for Worldpay is $22.7 billion, bringing the total deal value to $24.25 billion. As part of the transaction, Global Payments also arranged a $13.5 billion sale of its Issuer Solutions division to FIS, the Jacksonville-based financial services group.

    The CMA’s decision to advance to a full review highlights regulatory concerns over potential effects on competition in the UK’s payments industry. If approved, the combination would unite Worldpay’s dominance in online and enterprise transactions with Global Payments’ strength in services for small and mid-sized businesses. Together, the combined company would manage payments for more than six million clients and process an estimated 94 billion transactions annually across more than 175 countries, according to Investing.com.

    Company filings indicate that the merged business could generate roughly $12.5 billion in adjusted net revenue and $6.5 billion in adjusted core earnings. In recent years, Global Payments has been actively reshaping its portfolio, selling off smaller business units to sharpen its focus and boost shareholder returns.

    Source: UK Finance Yahoo