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.
Warren Mead, global co-lead fintech, KPMG, says through 2015 and 2016, a total of $71 billion was invested in fintechs globally as “traditional financial services companies increasingly recognised tech innovation as the best way to remain relevant, manage compliance and cut costs”. The acquisition will help it tap into this market. Matchi also includes more than 2,500 companies – so the partnership has got potential.
UK-based market surveillance platform provider Ancoa has been sold by Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group to Swedish trading technology specialist Cinnober for an undisclosed sum. Ancoa had been trading for seven years across two offices in London and, according to the firm, its client roster included tier 1 banks, brokers and buy-side firms as well as a national regulator.
Leonard Curtis states that in 2016, the market surveillance specialist turned over more than £1.1 million, much of which was generated by three to five-year licensing agreements for its market surveillance platform. However, Ancoa became insolvent when it “failed to secure further the investment required to take the surveillance platform to the next level”. Cinnober also has offices in London and New York. Some of its clients include exchanges, such as the NYSE, Euronext and Australian Securities Exchange as well as exchange groups B3 (previously BM&F Bovespa) and JPX.
Valitor, an Icelandic banking services provider, has bought International Payment Services (IPS) in the UK. Terms of the acquisition have not been released but IPS’s technology will be integrated into Valitor’s own e-commerce solution, through its subsidiary AltaPay, an online, mobile and point of sale payment firm.
Valitor says its customer base and AltaPay’s will now get one payment provider for all online, mobile and in-store payments. This omni-channel solution lets merchants “dramatically reduce both the cost and scope of achieving PCI DSS compliance”.
