Convera Announces Final Closing of Western Union Business Solutions, Completing Global Transition
Former Western Union Business Solutions (WUBS) European business completes transition to Convera after $910 million acquisition in 2021
Acquisition positions Convera for continued growth globally after reporting record revenue through first half of the year.
LONDON & SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Convera, a leading non-bank B2B fintech in global payments, today announced the completion of the acquisition of its European business, marking the end of the transition from Western Union Business Solutions and following the company’s 2021 acquisition by private equity firms Goldfinch Partners LLC and The Baupost Group, LLC.
Convera leverages decades of industry expertise and technology-led payment solutions to provide smarter money movements to its +30,000 customers globally – helping them capture more value with every transaction. Reporting over half a billion in annual revenue, Convera continues to deliver record results with 2023 on track to outpace last year’s performance.
With this final close, the company will focus on its planned investments to transform cross border payments in the years to come.
Convera’s customers range from small business owners and enterprise treasurers to educational institutions, financial institutions, law firms and NGOs. Running on AWS cloud infrastructure, Convera provides a diverse set of offerings from simple currency exchanges to sophisticated hedging solutions, and this European acquisition will facilitate further growth opportunities in these fields.
“We are delighted to formally complete this transition and incorporate all our European business into Convera. The past two years have seen Convera transform substantially, building on the legacy of Western Union Business Solutions while positioning the company for growth in the digital age. We look forward to continuing this transformation, through innovation and new partnerships with our customers globally,” said Convera CEO, Patrick Gauthier.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal advisor to Goldfinch partners LLC and The Baupost Group, LLC throughout this transaction.
About Convera
Convera is a global B2B payments company, providing payments services and foreign exchange products to companies of all sizes. With expertise in managing foreign exchange and moving funds around the globe, Convera offers access to over 140 currencies and a financial network spanning more than 200 countries and territories. Providing technology-led payment solutions to 30K+ customers – from small business owners to enterprise treasurers across a range of industries. Convera’s purpose is to make moving money so easy that any company in the world can grow with confidence.
For more information, visit: www.convera.com
About Goldfinch Partners
Headquartered in Seattle, and with investment professionals in the Bay Area and New York City, Goldfinch Partners is a financial sponsor with approximately $1 billion of committed equity invested in software and technology-enabled services businesses against the broad theme of digital transformation across industry verticals. Launched in 2018, Goldfinch investment professionals have decades of experience investing and serving in senior operating roles at leading global companies. Founders Sean Collins (formerly of BCG) and Bill McNichols (formerly of Starbucks and Vulcan Capital) have worked and invested together since 2015, and with the Investment Team, have led over $100 billion in aggregate transactions.
About The Baupost Group, LLC
The Baupost Group is a Boston-based investment manager with a long-term, collaborative approach. Since 1982, the firm has been thoughtfully stewarding and compounding capital on behalf of families, foundations and endowments, as well as employees who collectively are the firm’s largest client. Today Baupost manages roughly $26 billion.
With a broad and flexible charter, and depth of experience across all asset classes and market environments, Baupost is strongly positioned to evaluate and pursue longer-duration and highly complex opportunities, and to structure transactions flexibly to meet the requirements of sellers.
Contacts
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