JPMorgan, Greek fintech get a roadmap to bridge their dispute

A London court on Thursday detailed how Greek fintech Viva Wallet should be valued — a development that could prompt its sale after a fresh valuation.

It also could help patch up differences that have spurred JPMorgan Chase, which owns a 48.5% stake in Viva, and Haris Karonis’s WRL, which owns 51.5%, to sue each other.

Karonis argued, in court documents filed earlier this year, that Viva is being blocked from entry in the U.S. and some European markets in an effort to keep its valuation down. Karonis also alleged JPMorgan’s payments business is allowed to compete with Viva in some markets, according to a February report in the Financial Times.

JPMorgan bought its stake in Viva in 2022 for roughly €800 million and, under the terms of that deal, the bank could take full control of Viva if it’s valued at less than €5 billion by July 2025.

At last count, there was a €2 billion gulf between Viva’s worth in the eyes of its own valuer, EY, and that figure as seen by JPMorgan’s valuer, Houlihan Lokey. But neither is anywhere near €5 billion. The former has estimated Viva at €3 billion; the latter, at €1 billion.

“As the founder of this business, I am thrilled that Viva will now be properly valued on the basis of its growth strategy in the U.S., reflecting its fair market value,” Karonis said in a statement seen Thursday by Reuters.

Karonis had earlier alleged the 2022 deal creates “perverse incentives” for JPMorgan to limit Viva’s growth.

The London judge on Thursday confirmed that Viva is subject to U.S. legal restriction but dismissed suggestions that JPMorgan had an incentive to depress the fintech’s value.

Lawyers for JPMorgan, at an expedited trial this year, said WRL “manufactured a dispute” about the valuation to pressure the bank to renegotiating the deal, according to Bloomberg.

The bank, meanwhile, has noted that fintech valuations have plummeted since the 2022 deal was struck.

JPMorgan, too, called Thursday’s ruling a “great outcome.”

“With a financial stake in the company, we have repeatedly offered ways to help the company expand and succeed,” a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters. “The court has now provided a critical step to move forward with fair and transparent valuations — which could allow Viva to be sold soon, before the fintech M&A market further softens.”

The JPMorgan payments executive largely credited as the architect of the Viva deal, Takis Georgakopoulos, announced this month he is leaving the bank to “pursue an opportunity outside the firm.”

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