Fintech Acquisition Corp team returns to Nasdaq to raise $153m
Fintech Acquisition Corp seeks to raise $153m
The Fintech Acquisition Corp I team that raised $100 million through an IPO in February 2015, has returned a new blank check company – Fintech Acquisition Corp II. It seeks to raise $153 million on 20-25 January via Nasdaq, under the FNTEU symbol.
The first company floated by the team acquired FTS Holding Corporation in July 2016 and renamed it CardConnect Corp. It now trades shares of the firm on Nasdaq under the CCN symbol at approximately $14 per share.
Being a blank check company, it has no specific business plan or purpose but has made its commercial interests clear in its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It intends to concentrate on identifying businesses providing technological services to the financial services industry, with special emphasis on businesses that provide data processing, storage and transmission services, databases, and payment processing services.
Money, money, money
There is no dearth of capital for the right fintech firms at the moment – and there are plenty of contenders for those investment dollars. KPMG reported earlier that in Q3 2016 alone, venture capital backed fintech firms raised $ 2.4 billion across 178 deals.
Meanwhile, China has recently launched a $1.5 billion fintech fund dedicated to mergers and acquisitions this year.
In the UK, government-backed British Business Bank has pledged £400 million to UK fintechs and other businesses.
Fintech start-ups in Europe are looking to get up to €1.6 billion in funding from the European Investment Fund.
2017 is looking to be an exciting year for fintech firms with new regulations, plenty of funding, and some great ideas taking off.
By Soumik Roy, editorial contributor to Banking Technology
