Leeds-based International Personal Finance (IPF) said on Monday it has agreed to a £543 million cash takeover by US specialty finance firm BasePoint Capital.
Under the terms of the acquisition, IPF shareholders will be entitled to receive £2.35 in cash for each IPF share — a 31% premium.
Established in 1997 as a division of Provident Financial, Leeds-based IPF was demerged and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2007. IPF is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
IPF specialises in providing unsecured consumer credit to “underserved consumers” across nine markets: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Mexico, Australia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Through its products including home credit, digital instalment loans, credit cards, retail credit, digital credit lines and a mobile wallet, IPF serves approximately 1.7 million customers.
“Under the terms of the acquisition, eligible IPF Shareholders will additionally be entitled to retain any final dividend which may be declared by IPF in respect of its financial year ended 31 December 2025 up to a maximum final dividend of 9 pence per IPF Share (the ‘permitted dividend’,” said IPF.
“Any such final dividend is expected to be declared on 25 February 2026, alongside IPF’s 2025 full-year results.
“The terms of the acquisition value the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of IPF at approximately £543 million (not including any permitted dividend) and represent a premium of approximately … 31.1 per cent to the closing price of 179.2 pence per IPF share on 29 July 2025 (being the last business day prior to the commencement of the Offer Period …”
BasePoint CEO Eric Schneider said: “IPF is a business we’ve followed for some time and have been consistently impressed by its positioning across nine different geographies as a leading provider of credit to underbanked and underserved individuals.
“With our deep experience in consumer specialty finance in the U.S., we believe BasePoint is well placed to help IPF build on its strengths and continue evolving its business model as a differentiated provider of consumer credit. We’re excited and look forward to partnering with the management team to support the next phase of IPF’s growth”
IPF chair Stuart Sinclair said: “I am proud of the significant progress that IPF has made in our commitment to financial inclusion, making a real difference to the lives of over 15 million customers.
“Over recent years, IPF has had to navigate significant macroeconomic challenges, competitive forces, an ever-changing regulatory landscape and risks of operating in emerging markets.
“Throughout this period, the IPF Board and management team have successfully adjusted the business model to remain focused on our core purpose of financial inclusion.
“The IPF Board has been considering its options to ensure that the market value better reflects the business’s opportunities and prospects, having consistently traded at a substantial discount to comparable international businesses over the past ten years.
“Whilst the Board continues to believe in the strategy and long-term prospects of IPF on a standalone basis, we recognise that the acquisition allows IPF Shareholders to monetise their entire investment for cash at a fair price. We believe that the business will benefit from BasePoint’s ownership and its commitment to fulfil IPF’s purpose of building a better world through financial inclusion.
“Following careful consideration, the IPF Directors have unanimously concluded that they intend to recommend this offer, considering it to be in the interests of all our shareholders and wider stakeholders.”