Exits & Deep Reads

SPACs are Back (TWIF 5/25)

Hello Fintech Friends,

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all our readers!

Want some light weekend reading?

Check out the Book of Scouting reports that our partners at CB Insights put together with a breakdown of a few of the most innovative companies coming to Stablecon next week:

And while you're at it, check out our newest MENA newsletter from Maria Najjar:

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below.

(👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm)

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📖 Reads of the Week

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs & SPACs

Consumer debt collections company Jefferson Capital filed for a $100 million IPO, aiming to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol JCAP. The company focuses on purchasing and servicing consumer charged-off accounts and reported $366 million in 2023 revenue.
INFINT Acquisition 2, a fintech-focused SPAC, filed for a $100 million IPO. Sponsored by Infint Acquisition Holdings, the SPAC intends to pursue targets in financial services and technology.
Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp II, a blank-check company led by financier Betsy Cohen, filed for a $220 million IPO. The SPAC plans to focus on consumer fintech and digital media sectors.
FIGX Capital Acquisition, another SPAC, filed for a $131 million IPO, targeting businesses in financial technology, digital assets, and software. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol FIGXU.

🤝 M&A - Fintech

Apax Partners, through an affiliate, agreed to acquire Finastra’s Treasury and Capital Markets business for $2 billion. The transaction, expected to close later this year, will allow Finastra to focus on its core cloud-based banking and payments solutions.
Apex Group acquired a majority stake in Tokeny, a Luxembourg-based tokenization platform.
CPME Group, a UAE-based SPAC, announced plans to acquire Egyptian SME lending platform Qardy. The transaction will take Qardy public and support its expansion across MENA.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sold a controlling stake in Cantor Fitzgerald to his children and 26North Partners, a firm led by Josh Harris.
Etops Group acquired FinanzPortal24, a German provider of financial planning software for advisors. The acquisition will enhance Etops’ capabilities in wealth tech and advisor-focused digital tools.

🏦 M&A - Banks

Capital One finalized its $35.3 billion all-stock acquisition of Discover Financial Services, concluding a 15-month process. This merger positions Capital One as the largest U.S. credit card issuer by loan volume and the sixth-largest bank by assets, totaling over $650 billion.
Chesnara, a UK-based life and pensions consolidator, is reportedly considering the acquisition of HSBC Holdings' UK life insurance operations. Chesnara, established in 2004, operates in both the UK and Europe and reported £14 billion in AUM.
Hightower, which manages approximately $156 billion in assets, made a strategic investment in Smith Anglin, a Dallas-based RIA with around $2 billion in assets under management. Simultaneously, Steward Partners acquired Moore's Wealth Management, a Gainesville, Georgia-based advisory team with $700 million in client assets.