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This week, LSEG agreed to buy credit intelligence provider Octus for $3.535 billion, while Tradeweb struck a $1.97 billion deal for bond trading platform Trumid. Other acquisitions included Cross River Bank’s agreement for wallet and loyalty provider Accrue and Ramp’s Vesto deal.
Public listings advanced across several markets. Mynt, the operator of GCash, began trading after the Philippines’ largest IPO, while OPay set terms for a U.S. listing and Sea outlined plans to take Monee public. Nedbank completed its acquisition of a controlling stake in Kenya’s NCBA, and Dime agreed to buy ES Bancshares for approximately $58 million.
This week’s deep reads examine banks’ efforts to limit third-party AI agents’ access to customer accounts and the decline in fintech funding as deals grow scarcer. TWIF coverage included a piece on Stripe’s Treasury for Agents, which lets founders use AI tools to manage money. We also wrote about Ramp’s bid for a trust bank charter to manage investments and hold digital assets.
Photo by Oliver Hale via Unsplash. Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find us at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech and @ndm.
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Reads of the Week
IPOs & SPACs - Fintech
OPay set terms for a U.S. IPO seeking up to $366 million at a valuation of up to $4.42 billion.
Mynt, the operator of Philippine digital wallet GCash, began trading following a PHP 60.9 billion ($967 million) IPO, the country’s largest.
Sea outlined plans to take its digital financial services business Monee public.
MNT-Halan, an Egyptian lending and payments company, debuted on the Egyptian Exchange following an EGP 7.84 billion ($145 million) IPO.
M&A - Fintech
LSEG agreed to acquire credit intelligence and data provider Octus for $3.535 billion in cash.
Tradeweb agreed to acquire electronic credit trading platform Trumid for approximately $1.97 billion, including $220 million in tax assets.
Kapital agreed to acquire AI coding startup Woz for $30 million in cash and stock to strengthen its banking technology.
Finda, a South Korean loan comparison platform, received regulatory approval to acquire Daewon Savings Bank in a ₩12 billion (approximately $9 million) deal.
Cross River Bank parent CRB Group agreed to acquire Accrue, a provider of branded wallets, stored-value technology and loyalty rewards.
Ramp acquired Vesto, which provides treasury software for managing cash across multiple banks.
Tech Mahindra acquired Finastra’s cash management product suite, including its virtual accounts and liquidity management software.
KORT Payments agreed to acquire Canadian real-time payments and payment orchestration provider AptPay.
Standard Chartered signed definitive agreements to acquire Zodia Custody, bringing its regulated digital asset custody operations into the bank.
Bitget announced plans to acquire Thai digital asset exchange and brokerage GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics through its interest in BTGT Management.
Plus500 conditionally agreed to acquire Brazilian securities brokerage Guru to expand its Latin American trading business.
Harlem Children’s Zone acquired financial education platform Goalsetter.
Formidium acquired Luxembourg-based Ci Fund Services, expanding its technology-driven fund administration business in Europe.
Teamshares, a fintech focused on employee ownership, acquired Baltimore restaurant group Pappas Seafood Co. for an undisclosed sum.
Blackstone and Warburg Pincus are exploring a sale of bank deposit network operator IntraFi that could value the company at more than $10 billion.
M&A - Banks and Financial Institutions
Nedbank completed its acquisition of a 66% stake in Kenya’s NCBA Group in a transaction valued at R13.9 billion (approximately $846 million).
Northrim BanCorp and PBCO Financial, parent of People’s Bank of Commerce, secured shareholder approvals for their previously announced $167.3 million all-stock merger.
Banco Inter agreed to acquire Wiz’s remaining 39.75% stake in insurance brokerage Inter Seguros for R$409.5 million (approximately $81 million).
Vinci Compass agreed to acquire Brazilian reinsurer AustralRe for an estimated R$336 million (approximately $67 million).
Dime Commercial Bancshares agreed to acquire ES Bancshares, parent of New York’s Empire State Bank, for approximately $58 million in cash and stock.
DFCU Financial agreed to acquire Sarasota-based Gulfside Bank, marking the Michigan credit union’s fourth Florida acquisition since 2023.
Plains State Bank agreed to acquire Austin Colony, parent of Texas-based First National Bank of Lake Jackson.
BancFirst completed its acquisition of Spirit BankCorp and its Oklahoma banking subsidiary SpiritBank.
Legend Bancorp completed its acquisition of Texas-based Graham Savings and Loan.
BRED Banque Populaire agreed to acquire ODDO BHF’s international and corporate banking operations in Germany.
Northpointe Bank announced a nonbinding agreement to sell its distributed retail and consumer direct mortgage origination channels to CMG Financial.
William Blair acquired Armentum Partners, an investment bank specializing in debt and alternative financing for healthcare and technology companies.
Shelton Capital Management agreed to acquire assets of Essex Investment Management, which manages growth equity portfolios.
UBS acquired a 4.8% stake in Indian wealth manager 360 One Wam by exercising warrants.
AUB Group agreed to acquire Aon’s One Underwriting Australia insurance agency.
UK P&I Club and TT Club completed their joint acquisition of insurance services provider Thomas Miller Holdings.
Falvey Insurance Group agreed to acquire Providence Washington Insurance Company, an insurance shell owned by Everspan Group.
