Equals Group has agreed to a £283m acquisition offer from London-based investor consortium, Alakazam.

The fintech company and payment platform developer said it expects the deal, which values each Equals share at 140 pence, to complete in Q2 2025.

Alakazam is a consortium with its owners including Towerbrook Capital Partners UK LLP, JC Flowers & Co UK LLP and shareholders of Railsr, the trading name for Embedded Finance Ltd.

The consortium said the reasons that it invested in the firm included its “diverse set of high-performing” payments, cards and banking products, its “purpose-built and unified” platform and a “strong financial profile” combining growth, profitability and cash flow generation.

The deal, which Equals describes as “fair and reasonable”, comprises of a cash consideration of 135 pence, plus a five pence dividend per share.

AJ Bell has reported that shares at Equals were up 12% at 134 pence each on Wednesday afternoon.

Non-executive charman at Equals, Alan Hughes, said: "Since our inception in 2007, the Equals Group has undergone significant transformation and strong business growth to become one of the UK's leading cross-border payment providers. Whilst the board remains confident in the Equals Group's long-term prospects, we also acknowledge the challenges of the next phase of our strategy, and the need for scale to remain competitive in attracting larger target clients.

"In recommending this transaction, the board believes that it has secured a future for the Equals Group in a private environment while delivering greater value to shareholders than was ascribed to the Equals Group as a standalone business executing an independent strategy."

In a joint statement, managing director at TowerBrook, Joseph Knoll, co-president at J.C. Flowers, Tim Hanford, and director at Embedded Finace, Dan Adler, concluded: "Equals management have built a high-quality business which is well-positioned to benefit from the fast-growing B2B international multi-currency banking and payments market. We are delighted that our proposal has been recommended by the board and are excited by the prospect of working with the combined group and its management.

"The strategic fit of Equals and Railsr is compelling and the combination of their complementary strengths and capabilities is expected to enhance the customer proposition and create a leading embedded finance, foreign exchange and payments business. The consortium believes the combined group is an ideal platform for continued growth and innovation in Fintech and we look forward to supporting the combined group's growth."

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