Corpay to Acquire Alpha to Expand Investment Funds Business

Corporate payments company Corpay plans to accelerate its entry into investment funds by acquiring Alpha Group International, a provider of B2B cross-border foreign exchange (FX) solutions to corporations and investment funds in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Alpha’s board intends to recommend that Alpha shareholders vote in favor of the deal, and, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and standard closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, the companies said in a Wednesday (July 23) press release.

The acquisition values Alpha at an enterprise valuation of about $2.2 billion, according to the release.

Corpay Chairman and CEO Ron Clarke said in the release that Alpha is “highly complementary” to Corpay’s business and that the transaction will give Corpay the opportunity to expand Alpha’s relationships with European-based investment managers into the United States and Asia.

“This transaction meaningfully expands our relationships with investment managers and results in four Cross Border customer segments: corporates, financial institutions, investment funds and digital currency providers,” Clarke said.

Alpha Group CEO Clive Kahn said in the release: “Corpay’s position as the leading non-bank provider of B2B cross-border solutions is the perfect home for our people and will broaden their career prospects over time. Additionally, Corpay’s global footprint, licenses, bank relationships, technology and balance sheet will accelerate our growth momentum, particularly in our institutional investor business.”

Corpay said during a February earnings call that it remains active in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and plans to further expand its corporate payments business.

Corpay and global asset management firm TPG said in May that they entered into a deal to acquire accounts payable (AP) automation software provider AvidXchange.

“AvidXchange’s leading suite of AP automation solutions has made them a trusted partner to over 8,500 middle-market businesses and is highly complementary to our corporate payments business,” Clarke said at the time.

In February, Corpay announced its plans to acquire Brazil-based vehicle registration and compliance payment company Gringo.

Gringo offers a “super app for car drivers” and a national network that help drivers in Brazil pay for vehicle taxes, registration and fines instantly. The app has 2.5 million monthly active users.

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