Hello Fintech Friends,
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In a big week for acquisitions, the world’s second-largest asset manager, Vanguard, agreed to buy Altruist for roughly $4 billion. Altruist’s wealth technology and custody platform gives Vanguard a bigger foothold among independent financial advisers, putting it in closer competition with Schwab and Fidelity.
Another potential blockbuster deal fell apart this week: Stripe and Advent International abandoned their pursuit of PayPal after the payments company reportedly considered the consortium’s offer too low. Stripe, Nayax, Socure, BitGo, Basware and Priority Commerce also announced deals.
Meanwhile, Nigerian payments giant OPay reportedly weighing a U.S. IPO at a $4 billion valuation. Advasa Holdings completed its Nasdaq listing and Evernorth secured SEC clearance for its SPAC merger.
This week’s deep reads address banking regulators’ approach to unsafe and unsound practices, the latest on World Liberty Financial, and fintech funding trends. Be sure to catch TWIF’s podcast interview with Clair co-founder and CEO Nico Simko where he discusses embedded earned wage access and the future of payroll.
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Reads of the Week
IPOs & SPACs - Fintech
Japanese earned-wage-access provider Advasa Holdings completed a direct listing on Nasdaq under the ticker ADBT.
XRP treasury company Evernorth secured SEC clearance for its SPAC merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II.
American Savings Bank filed for an IPO and plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol ASBH.
South Korean fintech Afinit, which operates India-focused lending platform True Balance, filed for preliminary approval to list on the Kosdaq.
Nigerian fintech OPay is reportedly planning to list on the Nigerian Exchange as it prepares for a potential U.S. IPO that could value the company at about $4 billion.
Indian fintech and enterprise technology firm Paramotor Digital Technology received regulatory approval to proceed with an IPO.
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M&A - Fintech
Stripe and Advent International reportedly abandoned their pursuit of PayPal after the payments company considered their $60.50-per-share offer, valuing it at more than $53 billion, too low.
Israeli payments fintech Nayax agreed to acquire smart-parking payments provider IPS Group for $350 million in cash.
Crypto custodian BitGo acquired NYDIG’s institutional trading business, adding derivatives, structured-products and financing capabilities along with about 30 employees. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Basware signed an agreement to acquire payment-fraud prevention platform Trustpair.
Priority Commerce acquired government-payments software provider IntelliPay for $11.5 million upfront and up to $3.5 million in earnout payments.
Stripe agreed to acquire Clerky, which provides online tools for startup formation, fundraising, equity and corporate paperwork. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
AI-powered SBA lending service provider Lendesca acquired SBA Collective, adding its team and network of community-bank and credit-union relationships. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Professional-services firm Kavaliro acquired The Oakleaf Group’s FinTech Consulting practice, expanding its mortgage-finance, capital-markets and regulatory-consulting capabilities.
M&A - Banks and Financial Institutions
Vanguard agreed to acquire wealth technology and custody platform Altruist for roughly $4 billion.
Valley National Bancorp agreed to acquire Providence Financial, the $1.6 billion-asset parent of Providence Bank & Trust, for $247 million in cash and stock.
First Financial Corp. agreed to acquire First Illinois Corp., the parent of Hickory Point Bank and Trust, for approximately $111.3 million in cash and stock.
Florida-based Gulf Winds Credit Union agreed to acquire Madison County Community Bank, creating a credit union with about $1.7 billion in assets. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
