Mergers & Acquisitions/M&A


Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 18 August 2017

Quickly following on from the round-up on 16 August, here’s more blockchain and Bitcoin action. Features the Australian government, Blockchain (as in the firm), ShapeShift, Bitstamp and Payza. The Australian government has launched a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism financing – including the digital currency exchange sector being regulated for the first time. The […]

Industry bullish on promise of fintech – Opimas research

Market players are bullish on the near- and longer-term promise of fintech, according to new research by Opimas, “Fintech Spending and Innovation in Capital Markets”. In 2017, it estimates fintech spending across all capital markets participants to exceed $127 billion.

Vantiv and Worldpay agree on $10.4bn merger

Vantiv and Worldpay each reported double-digit profit growth on Aug. 9 and announced that their respective boards have agreed to an £8 billion (US$10.4 billion) merger. The combined company, which will be called Worldpay, will be valued at approximately £22.2 billion (US$28.8 billion). 

Payments round-up: 3 August 2017

Take the pain out of paytech with this brief round-up. Features Seven Bank, BDO Unibank, Earthport, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Payconiq and Digicash Payments.

Nasdaq to buy surveillance provider Sybenetix

Nasdaq will acquire Sybenetix, a surveillance provider that uses behavioural analytics and cognitive computing. The addition of Sybenetix to Nasdaq’s risk and surveillance suite of solutions, including Smarts and TradeGuard, will allow Nasdaq to “bring deeper technology savviness and expertise to buy-side compliance officers across the global capital markets who require future-focused surveillance capabilities to […]

Ingenico Buys Bambora for €1.5 Billion

In payments, the big guys just keep getting bigger and more diversified. Ingenico Group on July 20 announced its €1.5 billion (US$1.74 billion) purchase of Sweden-based payments company Bambora from Nordic Capital.

Mastercard buys in to AI with Brighterion

Mastercard has entered into an agreement to acquire Brighterion, a software company specialising in artificial intelligence (AI), reports Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore. This acquisition follows Mastercard’s March acquisition of NuData Security and will further expand Mastercard’s capabilities to “deliver an enhanced customer experience and security”. Brighterion’s portfolio of AI and machine learning technologies provide real-time […]

Mastercard Buys in to AI with Brighterion

Mastercard has entered into an agreement to acquire Brighterion Inc., a software company specializing in artificial intelligence. This acquisition follows Masterdard’s March acquisition of NuData Security and will further expand Mastercard’s capabilities to “deliver an enhanced customer experience and security.”

Worldline buys Digital River World Payments

France-based payments technology provider Worldline is expanding its global footprint with a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Digital River World Payments (DRWP), an online global payment service provider from Digital River Inc. Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore reports that the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter […]

Broadridge buys data and intelligence firm Spence Johnson

Broadridge Financial Solutions will acquire Spence Johnson, a provider of institutional data and intelligence, for its asset management market ambitions. With the purchase, Broadridge says its Global Market Intelligence, a platform for retail cross-border fund data and analytics, will be able to use Spence Johnson’s Money in Motion dataset that provides analytics on assets, flows […]

UK competition watchdog tells ICE to sell Trayport

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has finally decided that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) should sell Trayport to preserve competition in wholesale energy trading. As Banking Technology reported in August, the CMA “provisionally” found ICE’s acquisition of Trayport may give rise to competition concerns. After lengthy investigation, CMA says: “As a result, ICE will now […]

M&A Update: IDT’s New Owner; ScanSource Buys POS Portal 

Two recent deals further demonstrate the fertile M&A field in the payments space worldwide. London-based JAR Capital Limited has announced plans to acquire Gibraltar-based e-money issuer IDT Financial Services. Meanwhile, technology provider ScanSource Inc. has agreed to buy POS Portal, a Sacramento-based payment terminal and P2PE encryption technology provider that focuses largely on the SMB market.

Misys and D+H merge to launch fintech titan Finastra

Misys and DH Corporation (D+H) have joined forces to create Finastra, the third largest financial services technology company in the world. As reported in March, D+H was acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $3.6 billion. The venture capital firm, which owns UK-based banking software vendor Misys, beat rival Advent International to acquire D+H. Finastra will […]

Softbank continues spending spree, grabbing smart robotics firm from Google

Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank continued its drive to take centre stage in the evolution of the tech industry with the acquisition of Boston Dynamics from Google/Alphabet. Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that Boston Dynamics has been a fairly high profile robotics pioneer in recent years, specialising in humanoid and quadrupedal machines apparently designed to […]

Payments firm Tilt wilts

Following Airbnb’s acquisition of crowdfunding and social payments start-up Tilt in February, it is now being wound down. Tilt (formerly Crowdtilt) was built with the aim to allow groups and communities to collect, fundraise, or pool money online. It was founded five years ago with high hopes. Its co-founder and CEO James Beshara said at […]

Deloitte buys consulting firm Market Gravity

Deloitte has acquired design consultancy firm Market Gravity as it looks for a lift and the chance to moisten its creative juices. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in London with teams in New York, Edinburgh and Toronto, Market Gravity works across multiple sectors including financial services, retail, energy, telecoms and automotive. It recently helped UK-based […]

Euronext to acquire FastMatch for FX sake

Pan-European exchange Euronext will acquire about 90% of FastMatch for $153 million as part of its expansion plans in the $5.1 trillion daily foreign exchange (FX) market. FastMatch’s management will retain about 10% interest, with minority rights. Closing is subject to regulatory and anti-trust approvals, and is expected to occur in Q3 2017. Stéphane Boujnah, […]

Apple’s $200m acquisition wants to shed light on dark data

Apple has reportedly made another sly move into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) through the $200 million acquisition of dark data firm Lattice, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). The purchase has been brought to light by TechCrunch, and will add a small, but respected team of AI engineers to the ranks of the […]

Fintech M&A round-up: 10 May 2017

Say goodbye to long reads with this brief round-up of the latest buys in the fintech world. Features KPMG, Matchi, Ancoa, Cinnober, Valitor, International Payment Services and AltaPay. KPMG has acquired Matchi, a matchmaking platform that connects financial institutions with fintech companies. The pair have worked together since 2015, so the deal “cements” their relationship. […]

Top fintech stories this week – 14 April 2017

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Mastercard gets approval to buy VocaLink for $920m Deal expected to close in coming weeks. Bank of England implicated in Libor rigging by secret recording Well, it was secret. FIS sheds Ambit Private Banking business FIS inherited it […]