By Gloria Methri
February 01, 2024
- Clarus
- Agricultural Credit
- DMI Group
In 2023, the FinTech sector has seen a slowdown in deal activity as companies around the world have taken a cautious approach to mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In the first half of the year, only 128 M&A deals were recorded, compared to 248 and 188 in the first and second halves of 2022.
Despite the contraction, companies remain interested in exploring options and are looking forward to closing potential deals when market conditions improve. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, several FinTech segments are attracting M&A interest, including payments, treasury management software and corporate spinoffs.
The year 2024 began with multiple FinTech acquisitions in January. Let’s take a look at five of these announcements made this month:
French bank Crédit Agricole SA has acquired a 7% minority stake in a global payment and transaction services company World line.
This investment is an extension of the strategic partnership between Crédit Agricole Group and Worldline SA, the agreement for which was signed in July 2023. It aims to strengthen this collaboration to create a major player in the French market for payment services to merchants.
DMI Group, a pan-India financial services platform, has acquired ZestMoney. DMI will have the exclusive right to use all Zest trademarks through this acquisition.
This acquisition will enable DMI to expand its engagement with its current and potential customers by adding the ZestMoney payment financing platform to its product suite. DMI will also bring its customer base, balance sheet strength and extensive risk management experience to drive growth of Zest’s online and offline merchant network.
GFT Technologies has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares of the Colombia-based core banking expert Sophos Solutions Advent International. With Sophos, GFT says it becomes one of the leading IT services providers in Latin America and increases its global distribution capacity.
The transaction is expected to close in early February 2024. In 2022, Sophos generated revenues of approximately 257 billion Colombian pesos (approximately €60 million) and GFT reported more than €730 million worldwide.
Objectway, a provider of software and services to banks and asset and wealth managers, has acquired Nest of wealtha Canadian provider of digital heritage solutions.
Objectway has partnered with banks and wealth and asset management firms to strengthen and grow their businesses through software and services, enabling financial institutions of all sizes and geographies to seamlessly embark on their digital transformation journey.
Talus Pay, a provider of payment processing solutions, has acquired two companies, Jobox.aia FinTech company serving the home services industry, and Clarus Merchant Services, a provider of integrated B2B payment solutions.
Together with Jobox and Clarus, Talus Pay now processes over $9 billion in annual payment volume for more than 22,000 merchant customers in the United States. Pottebaum joins Talus Pay’s leadership team as general manager of its Clarus portfolio. Bloch has been named chief strategy officer of Talus Pay and Kaushik Pendurthi, also of Jobox, has been named chief technology officer.
Also read: Global Digital Banking Vendor and Landscape Report Q2 2024