CVC weighs $10.54 billion bid for Italian payments group Nexi, FT reports (updated)

CVC Capital Partners

28/04/2026 18:36

Adds Nexi declines to comment in paragraph 4

April 28 (Reuters) - Private equity firm CVC Capital CVC.AS is weighing a 9 billion euro ($10.54 billion) deal for Italian payments group Nexi NEXII.MI, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The private equity firm has previously explored acquiring Nexi twice, the report added.

The exploration is at a very early stage and may not result in a bid, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Nexi declined to comment, while CVC did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The report comes more than a month after Nexi's shares plunged to an all-time low when former CEO Paolo Bertoluzzo's new three-year strategy did not alleviate investor unease.

Advances in technology have disrupted the payments industry, allowing new entrants to move in and exposing legacy payments firms like Nexi.

Any CVC offer for Nexi, which has 6 billion euro ($7.02 billion) in debt, would come only if the Italian government was supportive, the report added.

Italy's golden powers allow the government to block or set conditions on foreign and domestic corporate takeovers in strategic sectors such as energy, telecoms and banking.

The potential deal would see Nexi's digital banking solutions unit being carved out and transferred to an Italian state-backed investor such as Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), although CDP - a Nexi shareholder - does not appear supportive of a delisting, the newspaper added.

Bertoluzzo stepped down from the role in March and was succeeded by insider Bernardo Mingrone.

($1 = 0.8541 euro)

 (Reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru and Amy-Jo Crowley in London; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

 ((Abu.Sultan@thomsonreuters.com;))