May 2024: Top five M&A deals of the month
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are common occurrences in the world of fintech, often reshaping businesses and redefining the market landscape. Here, we take a look at five of the top M&A deals in May, including the likes of ABN Amro, Schufa, Corpay, Nayax, finAPI and more.
UMB Financial Corporation acquires Heartland Financial in $2bn deal
UMB to acquire HTLF for $2bn
UMB Financial Corporation (UMB), the parent company of UMB Bank based in Missouri, USA, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Colorado-based bank holding company Heartland Financial USA (HTLF) in an all-stock transaction valued at around $2 billion.
The firms expect the deal to be finalised in the first quarter of 2025 subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by HTLF and UMB shareholders.
Upon completion, UMB Bank will manage around $64.5 billion in assets, including the $19.4 billion in assets currently managed by Heartland Financial, positioning it among the top 5% of the 616 publicly traded banks in the US.
UMB’s chairman and CEO Mariner Kemper says that the acquisition will create a “regional banking powerhouse with a 13-state branch presence”.
Nayax acquires Brazilian paytech VMtecnologia to propel LatAm expansion
Israeli fintech Nayax has acquired VMtecnologia, a payment technology provider specialising in self-service retail, in a deal that could be worth approximately $27 million.
Nayax initially announced its intention to purchase the vendor in March, and has now settled the first payment of the transaction, totalling around $13 million, through its cash reserves.
The company has three years to deliver the outstanding balance of the deal – around $9 million – contingent upon management retention and revenue growth, which it is expected to complete through either cash or equity.
The deal also includes a further potential payment of around $5 million based on the completion of “significant three-year growth objectives”, which is to be paid primarily in stock and brings the total potential consideration for the deal up to $27 million.
Yair Nechmad, CEO and chairman of Nayax, describes the acquisition as “a significant milestone” in its expansion efforts, and says the fintech is now due to make “substantial advancements in the automated self-service payments space in Latin America”.
Corpay to purchase AP automation platform Paymerang from Aldrich Capital for $475m
Corpay to acquire Paymerang for $475m
Corporate payment solutions provider Corpay has signed an agreement to acquire Paymerang, a US-based invoice and accounts payable (AP) automation platform, for approximately $475 million.
The purchase is set to add the 250,000 merchants currently served by Paymerang to the Corpay network, which the company claims is over one million vendors strong at present. The combined businesses are projected to process $120 billion in annual spend.
“This acquisition is right in our wheelhouse and exactly the kind of transaction we find most attractive,” comments Ron Clarke, CEO and chairman of Corpay.
“It will help us sell more in several large verticals where Paymerang has a strong position with satisfied customers, ERPs and partners.”
Open finance fintech Fabrick to acquire finAPI from Germany’s Schufa
European open finance fintech Fabrick has entered into an agreement to acquire German open banking platform finAPI to expand its presence into the DACH region.
The agreement will see Fabrick purchase a 75% stake in the open banking, data intelligence, KYC and payment services platform, currently held by Wiesbaden-headquartered private credit bureau Schufa, for an undisclosed sum.
The remaining 25% stake will stay with finAPI founders Florian Haagen and Martin Lacher.
Paolo Zaccardi, CEO of Fabrick, says the deal will enable “the proliferation of the internationalisation strategy defined since our inception”, and cites the DACH region as “an area of strategic importance in allowing us to scale up our operations and seize the growing opportunities offered by the sector”.
ABN Amro acquires Germany’s Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe in €672m deal
ABN Amro buys HAL for €672m
ABN Amro, one of the Netherlands’ largest banks, has agreed a deal with Fosun International to acquire Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe (HAL), a German private bank founded in 1796, for €672 million.
The Dutch giant anticipates that the combination of HAL with its German private banking arm Bethmann Bank will solidify its “top three position” in the German wealth management sector.
The merged entity is expected to manage approximately €70 billion in assets, with HAL contributing €26 billion in assets and €2 billion in loans.
Following the deal, ABN Amro is expected to enter the asset servicing sector, offering custody solutions particularly for illiquid assets and leveraging HAL’s “expertise and coverage” in the German midcap sector and its investment banking services to enhance its corporate banking ambitions within the country.
