2024: Top five fintech M&A deals of the year
As the year comes swiftly to an end, FinTech Futures takes a look back at some of the biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to grace the world fintech stage during 2024.
Capital One acquires Discover Financial Services in $35bn deal
Capital One to buy Discover in £35bn deal
In February, US financial services giant Capital One announced the acquisition of Discover Financial Services in an all-stock transaction valued at $35.3 billion.
The Virginia-based firm plans to leverage Discover’s customer base, technology, and data ecosystem to “deliver enhanced value to a franchise of over 100 million customers” and help boost merchant sales, with a 16% return on investment expected by 2027.
“Our acquisition of Discover is a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies,” explains Capital One’s founder, chairman and CEO, Richard Fairbank.
Founded in 1986, Discover Financial Services is a digital banking and payment services company and one of the largest card issuers in the US.
Webull set for Nasdaq public listing via $7.3bn SPAC merger
Digital investment platform Webull went public in the US after a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) SK Growth Opportunities in a deal valuing the combined company at $7.3 billion.
The combined company “will retain its name as ‘Webull Corporation’ and its ordinary shares are expected to be listed on Nasdaq under a new ticker symbol”, according to a statement by Webull.
Anthony Denier, group president of Webull Corporation, said he expects the merger to “enable us to further expand our holistic approach to retail investors”.
Richard Chin, CEO and director of SK Growth Opportunities, said he is confident that “capitalising on our experience and network globally will bolster Webull’s growth in existing and new markets as a public company”.
Nuvei snapped up by Advent International in $6.3bn deal
Nuvei sold to Advent International
Back in April, US private equity firm Advent International signed a definitive agreement to acquire Canadian payments processor Nuvei in a deal worth $6.3 billion.
Advent offered Nuvei’s shareholders $34 per share – a 56% premium on the company’s 15 March share price of $21.76 – through an all-cash transaction.
The deal also included the delisting of the paytech from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) and Nasdaq, where it has been listed since September 2020 and October 2021, respectively.
Nuvei CEO and chairman, Philip Fayer, retained his leadership role in the resulting private company.
Nationwide Building Society set for £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money
Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, agreed terms with retail bank Virgin Money over a potential £2.9 billion acquisition deal in March.
Nationwide said it expects to integrate Virgin Money “gradually over multiple years”, and plans to operate the retail bank as a separate business with a separate banking licence and board.
This gradual integration is intended to phase out the bank’s brand image over a six-year period of the deal, which was completed in 2023.
It added that it does not intend to make any material changes to Virgin Money’s approximately 7,300 employee headcount “in the near term”, and will not alter the presence of its 91 branches until the start of 2026 at the earliest.
BlackRock to acquire private markets data provider Preqin for $3.2bn
BlackRock to acquire Preqin for $3.2bn
In July, US asset management firm BlackRock acquired Preqin, a private markets data solutions provider headquartered in the UK, in a $3.2 billion (£2.55 billion) cash deal.
The transaction merged Preqin’s data and research tools with BlackRock’s portfolio management platform Aladdin and its private markets solution eFront.
This combination, BlackRock said, will consolidate the data, research and investment process for fund managers and investors across fundraising, deal sourcing, portfolio management, accounting and performance, creating a “preeminent private markets technology and data provider”.
As part of the acquisition, Preqin founder Mark O’Hare also joined BlackRock as a vice chair.
