Shares in card processing firm Paysafe shot up today after two of the world’s largest private equity groups made a $3.7bn (£2.8bn) takeover offer.

Shares in Paysafe rose 8.7 per cent to 589.1p in early trading, after the FTSE 250-listed company said CVC Capital Partners and Blackstone had made an initial offer for it in May, before hiking it to 590p per share, a 34 per cent premium to its average price in the six months to the end of June.

The bid has support from Old Mutual, which, with a 10.3 per cent stake, is Paysafe’s biggest shareholder. It has sent Paysafe a non-binding letter indicating it intends to vote in favour of the offer.

The news came as Paysafe announced it had bought Delta Card Services, the owner of Texas-based payment processor Merchants’ Choice Payment Solutions, for $470m.

The company supplies card processing services to approximately 60,000 merchants in 50 states, processing $14bn of sales each year.

The all-cash deal will be funded with a $380m loan facility underwritten by BMO Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank and other lenders, plus $90m of existing funds.