Alma raises 49 million euros to support retailers in a rapidly changing world

Seayaventures

Paris, January 25, 2021 – Alma, the French fintech offering installment payments and pay later solutions for merchants and consumers, has just completed a €49 million Series B financing round with investment funds Cathay Innovation, Seaya Ventures, Idinvest, Bpifrance via its Large Venture fund and Picus Capital. This round of financing will help accelerate the large-scale development of Alma’s service offer for retailers. On top of this, the current outstanding debt contracted by the company to finance merchants amounts to approximately €21 million, with a mix of institutional investors (70%) and HNWI (30%).

Nearly one year after a €12.5 million Series A round of equity funding, Alma continues to grow. Founded by Louis Chatriot and Guillaume Desloges in 2017, the company keeps on innovating to provide merchants with a way to increase their sales and customer satisfaction, while giving consumers greater control over their budgets. Moreover, this desire to constantly innovate is fully in line with changes in consumer purchasing habits that were accelerated by the successive lockdowns and temporary closures of most retail stores.

“This new round of financing is a validation of the continued trust of our investors in our vision of retail. With their support, we are able to continue developing our service offering, in line with our desire to make payment facilities available to an ever-growing number of merchants and consumers” explains Louis Chatriot, co-founder and CEO of Alma.

Didier Valet, former Deputy CEO of Société Générale and the latest member on Alma’s Board of Directors adds: “The institutional refinancing framework set up by Alma allows the company to offer retailers of all sizes its solutions, which bring a real breath of fresh air to this industry.”

€49M to strengthen its presence on the European market in 2021

With this latest funding round, Alma will consolidate its presence on a significant French market made up of more than 600,000 merchants of all sizes. This comes at a time when retailers have become fully aware of the need to digitize in an uncertain economic context.

Alma’s goals for 2020 centered around responding to these concerns by providing simple payment solutions for merchants. This was shown by the rollout of BNPL payment through Pay Later and B2B payment. In addition, Alma has tied partnerships with marketplaces such as Ankorstore to lighten the burden on cash-strapped retailers.

2021 will mark an acceleration of Alma’s activities both in France and abroad with an aim to keep on supporting retailers operating in France and in many European countries. To do so, the company intends to triple its workforce and the number of merchants using its services; Alma is expecting to process an annual volume of payments exceeding 1 billion euros within 2 years.

The company will also be focusing on the design of new products such as up to 12 times installment payments, the improvement of the products they are already providing to retailers and establishing partnerships with B2B marketplaces. Alma’s stated objective is to meet consumers’ new payment expectations, while becoming an essential partner for retailers.

“We have spent a lot of time analyzing the lending sector, and in particular the Buy Now Pay Later market, across Europe and have been impressed with the talent and execution capabilities of Louis, Guillaume and the team, as well as with the company’s brand, product and technology. We are delighted to join them in their journey to become the European leader and are proud to support their growth, in and outside France” says Aristotelis Xenofontos, Director at Seaya Ventures.

“Alma meets a real need for both retailers and consumers. In the context of the pandemic and economic turmoil, Alma has demonstrated the usefulness of its innovative payment solutions which have positive economic and social impact on its ecosystem. We fully share Alma’s vision and we are confident in their ability to anticipate and support major changes in the retail industry. Alma has a great future ahead and we are proud to support its development in France and abroad”, adds Jacky Abitbol, Partner at Cathay Innovation.

“Louis, Guillaume and the entire Alma team are proving on a daily basis that a combination of talent, technology and ambition enabled them to durably set a foot in an already mature market. Idinvest has supported Alma since its first financing round, closely monitoring how the company and its production capabilities have grown along the way. Alma is still at the beginning of its journey and we are proud to support the team in the long run”, explains Nicolas Debock, Managing Director at Idinvest.

“BNPL and installment payment markets are constantly growing with retailers having to adapt their business model to ever-changing customers’ needs, enabling them to reach higher conversion rates. Alma is uniquely positioned to help businesses in meeting their needs and to become a leader of the payment market. We are highly impressed with the incredible performance of Louis and its team over the past two years”, says Olivia de la Rivière, Growth Equity Investor at Bpifrance Large Venture fund.

Alma broadens its service offering by removing obstacles to payment at the time of purchase

In 2020, the significant acceleration of online shopping has highlighted the need to offer alternative payment solutions for both merchants and consumers. In order to meet these expectations, Alma has mobilized its technical and financial expertise to support online retailers, but also to strengthen physical retail stores, still suffering from the economic consequences of the health crisis.

To this end, the company has just launched Pay Later, its buy now pay later solution that allows customers to purchase goods immediately and pay for them later: two weeks to a month after the act of purchase. Thanks to Pay Later, Alma offers merchants an easy-to-use solution to attract and retain consumers, helping them face the difficult economic context at the beginning of the year.

For merchants, this represents a new competitive advantage:

  • Limiting the purchase postponement at the end of the month and increasing the average shopping basket thanks to Pay Later +15 days and +30 days;
  • Increasing and retaining customer loyalty thanks to this new payment facility;
  • Restoring cash flow thanks to the 100% payment guarantee at the time of purchase; merchants are getting paid by Alma upfront and in full.

For consumers, Pay Later gives them the opportunity to better control their budget, in particular:

  • Pay 15 or 30 days later – the customer can schedule the payment at the time of the order to be charged 15 or 30 days after the order is placed;
  • Try before you buy – Alma allows customers to place their orders and be charged only for what they want to keep. This acts as a way to avoid crowded stores during sale season, while allowing retailers to sell off their stock;
  • Full transparency on expenses at the time of purchase: there is no hidden cost to using Pay Later.

Pay Later is already used by many French retailers: fashion brands such as La Fée Maraboutée, local concept stores like Jane de Boy, or the eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier offer their customers this option, both online and in-store.

About Alma

Alma offers thousands of merchants installment payment and pay later solutions to help them increase their sales and boost customer satisfaction. The payment is guaranteed: the merchant receives the full price at the moment of purchase while the customer pays over time. To date, Alma manages hundreds of millions of euros of transactions per year. More information on getalma.eu (in French)

About Cathay Innovation

Cathay Innovation is a global venture capital fund created within Cathay Capital that invests in start-ups at the heart of the digital revolution in Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and Africa. Its global platform brings together technology investors, investors, entrepreneurs and large companies on all continents to accelerate the growth of start-ups. We give them access to new markets, invaluable industry knowledge and allow them to meet potential partners from the outset. Cathay Innovation manages $1.5 billion in assets and has offices in San Francisco, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore. Cathay Innovation partners with visionary entrepreneurs and start-ups that are making a positive impact on the world through technology. For more information, visit www.cathayinnovation.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @Cathayinnov

About Seaya Ventures

Based in Madrid, Seaya Ventures has been backing the best entrepreneurs and teams in Southern Europe since 2013. Seaya focuses on supporting founders in scaling their businesses, enabling them to become global leaders. For more information visit www.seayaventures.com.

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EURAZEO invests in PPRO, leading local payments infrastructure platform

Eurazeo

Paris, 19 January 2021 –
Eurazeo, through Eurazeo Growth, announces a €55 million investment in PPRO, the most trusted infrastructure provider in the cross-border alternative payments space. Eurazeo Growth is co-leading this round of €153 million, alongside Sprints Capital and Wellington Management among other investors.

After Younited Credit, Wefox, Thought Machine and Tink, PPRO is Eurazeo Growth’s fifth investment in the Fintech sector and a testament to Europe’s innovation engine for financial services.
Headquartered in London, PPRO employs over 300 employees spread across 9 offices globally. The Company offers a payments infrastructure platform and value-added services that allow its customers and their underlying merchants to access over 150 alternative payment methods through one single API, while offloading the intricate complexities and massive costs of providing choice of payment method to local consumers.

Today, the Company counts 130 customers, fuelling cross-border e-Commerce growth for some of the world’s leading payment service providers such as Alipay, Mollie, PayPal, WorldPay, Citibank and Mastercard Payment Gateway Services. In addition, it serves 30 select enterprise customers with proprietary payment platforms including Adobe and Microsoft.
Capitalising on its market leading position, the Company doubled its year-on-year transaction volume in the fourth quarter of 2020, expanded its global team by 60% in the last twelve months, and developed new strategic partnerships with local payment methods in high-growth markets like Indonesia and Singapore. The funding will fuel PPRO’s continued global expansion and support the development of its innovative border-free payment technology and services.

Yann du Rusquec, Partner at Eurazeo Growth, states:
«We have been impressed by the level of maturity and ambitiousness of the organisation, Simon and his team have demonstrated throughout our interactions. Their local payment expertise is second to none, as recognised by some of the most influential players within payments. We are experiencing first hands the opportunities and challenges the ongoing innovation in payments provide to our marketplace and e-Commerce businesses across our portfolio. Sitting at the intersection of e-Commerce, cross-border trade and the growing adoption of alternative payment methods, PPRO is poised to continue its fast growth and build out its leadership position. Sharing PPRO’s partnership mindset, we are thrilled to be joining their journey alongside existing and new investors Citi Ventures, HPE, PayPal, Sprints and Wellington.»

Simon Black, CEO of PPRO, comments:
«I am so proud of what the PPRO team has accomplished. Beyond securing the support of prestigious investors like Eurazeo, Sprints, and Wellington and achieving a milestone valuation, we’ve enabled our customers to grow at record numbers during what has been a tough time for many. By giving businesses the ability to offer payment choice, we’ve helped give people around the world better access to goods and services that improve their lives. This investment will help us deliver the highest performance possible for companies leading the global payments industry.

About Eurazeo
• Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €18.8 billion in assets under management, including €13.3 billion from third parties, invested in over 430 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering in-depth sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.
• Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
• Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
• ISIN : FR0000121121 – Bloomberg : RF FP – Reuters : EURA.PA
EURAZEO EURAZEO

PIERRE BERNARDIN
HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS
mail : pbernardin@eurazeo.com
Tel : +33 (0)1 44 15 16 76

VIRGINIE CHRISTNACHT
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS
mail: vchristnacht@eurazeo.com
Tel: +33( 1 44 15 76 44

MAITLAND/amo
DAVID STURKEN
mail: dsturken@maitland .co .uk
Tel: +44 ( 7990 595 913

 

 

 

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Final results of the Offer for NIBC

Blackstone

This is a joint press release by NIBC Holding N.V. (“NIBC”, the “Company”) and Flora Acquisition B.V. (the “Offeror“), an entity incorporated under Dutch law, owned by certain funds (the “Blackstone Funds“) managed and/or advised by Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities and Private Equity businesses and other managers affiliated with The Blackstone Group Inc. (each or together, as the context requires, “Blackstone“), pursuant to the provisions of Section 17 paragraph 4 of the Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit Openbare Biedingen Wft) (the “Decree“) in connection with the recommended public offer (the “Offer” and together with the transactions contemplated in connection therewith, the “Transaction”) by the Offeror for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of NIBC (the “Shares”). This announcement does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities. Any offer will be made only by means of the offer memorandum dated 7 August 2020 (“Offer Memorandum“) approved by the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets (Stichting Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the “AFM“). Terms not defined in this press release will have the meaning given thereto in the Offer Memorandum. This announcement is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into, directly or indirectly, Japan or in any other jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution would be unlawful.

Final results of the Offer for NIBC

The Hague / Amsterdam, the Netherlands – 11 January 2021

  • During the Post Acceptance Period, 1.43% of the Shares have been tendered under the Offer.
  • Including Shares already held by or irrevocably committed to the Offeror or its group companies after Settlement and any Shares to which the Offeror or its group companies is entitled, this represents a total of 97.68% of the Shares (excluding Treasury Shares).
  • Settlement of the Shares tendered during the Post Acceptance Period will take place on 14 January 2021.
  • Delisting to occur as soon as possible.
  • The Offeror, together with its group companies, will initiate the statutory squeeze-out proceedings in order to obtain 100% of the Shares.

During the Post Acceptance Period which expired at 17:40 (CET) today, 2,096,489 Shares have been tendered under the Offer, representing approximately 1.43% of the aggregate issued and outstanding share capital of NIBC. Including the 140,987,055 Shares already held by or irrevocably committed to the Offeror or its group companies following Settlement and any Shares to which the Offeror or its group companies is entitled, this amounts to a total of 143,083,544 Shares, representing approximately 97.68% of the aggregate issued and outstanding share capital of NIBC (excluding Treasury Shares).

Settlement Post Acceptance Period

With reference to the Offer Memorandum, holders of Shares who accepted the Offer during the Post Acceptance Period shall receive the Offer Price for each Share validly tendered (or defectively tendered provided that such defect has been waived by the Offeror) and delivered (geleverd) for acceptance pursuant to the Offer, under the terms and conditions of the Offer Memorandum and subject to its restrictions.

Settlement of the Shares tendered during the Post Acceptance Period and payment of the Offer Price will take place on 14 January 2021. Following settlement of the Shares tendered during the Post Acceptance Period, the Offeror or its group companies will hold 143,083,544 Shares, representing approximately 97.68% of the aggregate issued and outstanding share capital of NIBC (excluding Treasury Shares).

Delisting

The Offeror and NIBC intend to procure the delisting of the Shares on Euronext Amsterdam as soon as possible under the applicable rules.

Squeeze-Out Procedure

Since the Offeror or its group companies own more than 95% of the Shares, the Offeror together with its group companies shall, at their discretion, commence (i) a statutory buy-out procedure (uitkoopprocedure) in accordance with article 2:92a of the Dutch Civil Code or (ii) the takeover buy-out procedure in accordance with article 2:359c of the Dutch Civil Code acquire the remaining Shares that are not yet held by the Offeror or its group companies.

The Settlement Agent
ING Bank N.V.
Bijlmerdreef 106
1102 CT Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Investor and press enquiries NIBC

Martin Groot Wesseldijk
T: +31 6 5160 8425
E: martin.groot.wesseldijk@nibc.com

Eveline van Wesemael
T: +31 70 342 5412
E: eveline.van.wesemael@nibc.com

Press enquiries Blackstone

Ramesh Chhabra
T: +44 20 7451 4053
E: Ramesh.Chhabra@blackstone.com

Rebecca Flower
T: +44 7918 360372
E: rebecca.flower@blackstone.com

Public relations Blackstone

David Brilleslijper
Comprehensive Strategies
T: +31 (0)6 109 425 14
E: David@comprehensivestrategies.nl

Information Agent Blackstone

Ivana Cvjetkovic
Georgeson
M: +31 (0)6 11 422 616
E: Ivana.Cvjetkovic@georgeson.com

About NIBC

NIBC is best suited to help entrepreneurs at their decisive moments. Now and in the future. As a bank for entrepreneurs, we are committed to cultivating our ‘THINK YES’ mentality by being flexible and agile and by matching our clients’ can-do attitude. We support our corporate clients in building their businesses. For our retail clients in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium we offer mortgages, online savings and brokerage products that are accessible, easy to understand and fairly priced. Operating in the Netherlands (The Hague and Amsterdam), Germany and UK, our corporate clients business (mainly mid-market) offers advice and debt, mezzanine and equity financing solutions to entrepreneurs across select sectors and sub-sectors in which we have strong expertise and market positions. The mid-market is dynamic by nature and requires a bank that can respond quickly and in a highly flexible way. Our aim is to meet the market’s requirements at decisive moments such as mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs, investments and strategic financings and re-financings.

For more information, please refer to the NIBC website www.nibc.com.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $584 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020 include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.

Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

Disclaimer

Restrictions

The distribution of this press release may, in some countries, be restricted by law or regulation. Accordingly, persons who come into possession of this document should inform themselves of and observe these restrictions. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, NIBC, the Offeror and Blackstone disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of any such restrictions by any person. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of that jurisdiction. Neither NIBC, nor the Offeror nor Blackstone, nor any of their advisers, assumes any responsibility for any violation of any of these restrictions. Any NIBC shareholder who is in any doubt as to his or her position should consult an appropriate professional adviser without delay. This announcement is not to be published or distributed in or to Japan or any other jurisdiction in which such publication or distribution would be unlawful.

The information in the press release is not intended to be complete. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or an invitation to acquire or dispose of any securities or investment advice or an inducement to enter into investment activity. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire the securities of NIBC in any jurisdiction.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements”, such as statements relating to the impact of this Transaction on NIBC, the Offeror and Blackstone and the targeted timeline for the Transaction. Forward-looking statements include those preceded by, followed by or that include the words “anticipated,” “expected” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Although NIBC, the Offeror and Blackstone believe that the assumptions upon which their respective financial information and their respective forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, they can give no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, receipt of regulatory approvals without unexpected delays or conditions, the Offeror’s ability to successfully operate NIBC without disruption to its other business activities, the Offeror’s ability to achieve the anticipated results from the acquisition of NIBC, the effects of competition, economic conditions in the global markets in which NIBC operate, and other factors that can be found in NIBC’s, the Offeror’s and/or Blackstone’s press releases and public filings.

Neither NIBC, nor the Offeror nor Blackstone, nor any of their advisers, accepts any responsibility for any financial information contained in this press release relating to the business, results of operations or financial condition of the other or their respective groups. Each of NIBC, the Offeror and Blackstone expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

***

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Motive Partners Closes Sale of Avaloq to NEC

Motive Partners

New York, December 22, 2020 – Motive Partners today announced that it has completed the sale of Avaloq, a Swiss-based technology provider of digital banking solutions, core banking software and wealth management technology, to NEC Corporation, a Japan-based IT group, for CHF 2.05 billion. The sale agreement was first announced in October 2020. Motive Capital Fund 1 acquired a stake in the company in January 2018.

As the world witnesses a democratization of wealth management, Avaloq is well placed to capitalize on geographic expansion with its new partner, and to lead in digital banking solutions for high-end wealth management services and private banks globally. The democratization of the sector and digital inclusion is going to be an essential topic in the future as we see wealth shift geographies, classes and generations. Market trends continue to produce net flow and fee pressure and with an increase in competition, the industry is seeing further pressure on wealth managers to deliver more value to clients while simultaneously reducing the cost-to-serve. As the industry consolidates across markets in order to scale, Motive Partners seeks to capitalize on these trends.

Rob Heyvaert, Managing Partner of Motive Partners said: “We saw great potential in Avaloq as a result of its history as a global leader in wealth management technology, the opportunity for up-sell and cross-sell opportunities within its existing blue-chip client base, and the opportunity to support this client base through a transition to a cloud-based SaaS platform. Additionally, Motive Partners supported the company as it expanded beyond its traditional home market of Switzerland into the U.K., Germany, and APAC. We enjoyed this exciting journey working together with Avaloq, and with its strong leadership in place, we are confident that Avaloq will enjoy continued success as part of NEC.”
Francisco Fernandez, Founder and Chairman of Avaloq commented: “I have enjoyed working with Motive Partners a great deal, who have proven to be a very supportive investor. Led by industry experts, they shared our collective ambitions while providing the strategic support to allow Avaloq to achieve it’s potential, today and for many years to come. NEC’s geographic footprint and ability to continue investing heavily in R&D will set us in great stead for the future. I am deeply grateful to my partners at Motive Partners, with whom I have grown close to, and I look forward to continuing our friendship.”

About Motive Partners
Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm with offices in New York City and London, focusing on control-oriented growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five core sub-sectors across business and financial services: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Investment Management and Insurance. Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies.
More information on Motive Partners can be found at www.motivepartners.com.

About Avaloq
Founded in 1985, Swiss-based Avaloq is a global leader in digital banking solutions, core banking software and wealth management technology. Avaloq provides powerful cloud computing solutions for banks and wealth managers through BPaaS and SaaS. Avaloq is the only independent banking software provider to develop and also operate its own software.
Its established core banking system is complemented by three innovative digital platforms – Engage, Wealth and Insight – providing end-to-end digital solutions at a level of simplicity that will pave the way for the democratization of wealth management. To further spur innovation, Avaloq connects its clients with selected Financial Technology companies through the Avaloq.one Ecosystem, the company’s open banking marketplace.
More than 150 banks and wealth managers with around CHF 4.5 trillion in assets managed worldwide trust Avaloq for its award-winning products and services. Avaloq has its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland and employs more than 2,000 people around the world.
More information on Avaloq: An NEC Company can be found at www.avaloq.com.

Forward looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the expected timing and benefits of the transaction. Statements can generally be identified as forward- looking because they include words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “could,” “should,” or words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The factors that may adversely impact the anticipated outcomes include, among others: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the transaction agreement; conditions to the completion of the transaction may not be satisfied on the terms expected or on the anticipated timeline; and the benefits of the transaction may be different than currently anticipated. You should consider these factors carefully in evaluating forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Wilshire assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release.

For more information please contact:
EMMA GLYN
Investor Relations, Motive Partners
emma.glyn@motivepartners.com

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Eurazeo invests in Tink, leading open banking platform

Eurazeo

Paris, 11 December 2020 – Through Eurazeo Growth, Eurazeo invests €33 million in Tink, Europe’s leading open banking platform. This round of €85million of additional funding, led by Eurazeo Growth brings the total investment in Tink during 2020 to €175 million.

After Younited Credit, Wefox and Thought Machine, Tink is Eurazeo Growth’s fourth investment in the Fintech sector and the first in the Nordics.
Tink, a Swedish company founded in 2012, has more than 350 employees and is currently serving its clients out of 13 local offices across Europe. The company offers tools to build the future of financial services across Europe. Tink connects with more than 3,400 banks reaching over 250 million banking customers across Europe.

Through one API, Tink allows customers to access aggregated financial data, initiate payments, enrich transactions and build personal finance management tools. Tink’s technology and connectivity powers digital services for over 300 world-leading banks and fintechs, including PayPal, NatWest, ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Nordea and SEB. Tink’s open banking platform is also used by more than 8,000 developers.
Tink is currently live in Sweden, UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. During 2020, the company made three major acquisitions, Eurobits in Spain, Instantor in Sweden and Openwrks in the UK. These acquisitions enabled Tink to further strengthen its positioning in Spain and in the UK and to complement Tink’s product offering.

The funding will fuel Tink’s continued expansion and support the further development of its technology with a particular focus on payments. The company processes close to 1 million payment transactions per month in 5 markets, for clients including the payment fintech Lydia, used by more than 5 million customers in France. Tink aims to make its payment initiation services live in 10 markets in 2021.

Yann du Rusquec, Partner at Eurazeo Growth, states:

The open banking movement continues to pick up pace, with 2021 showing every sign that it will bring increased collaboration between fintechs and large enterprises, who want to take digitally enabled services to their customers with a tried and trusted partner. Since its inception eight years ago, Tink has proven itself to be the leading open banking platform in Europe, and our investment underlines the confidence we and the industry have in Tink and open banking. We look forward to supporting them on their continued journey.”

Daniel Kjellén, co-founder and CEO of Tink, comments:

“2020 has seen payments powered by open banking take-off, and in 2021 we expect to see this scale – most prominently in the UK, followed by Europe. This funding extension and the partnership with Eurazeo Growth, Dawn Capital and our existing investors will further facilitate the development of our payment initiation services across Europe, while continuing to deliver new data-products built on open banking technology to our customers.”

About Eurazeo
• Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €18.8 billion in assets under management, including €13.3 billion from third parties, invested in over 430 companies. With its considerable private equity, real estate and private debt expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its nearly 300 professionals and by offering in-depth sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term.

• Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid.
• Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
• ISIN: FR0000121121 – Bloomberg: RF FP – Reuters: EURA.PA

The open banking movement continues to pick up pace, with 2021 showing every sign that it will bring increased collaboration between fintechs and large enterprises, who want to take digitally enabled services to their customers with a tried and trusted partner. Since its inception eight years ago, Tink has proven itself to be the leading open banking platform in Europe, and our investment underlines the confidence we and the industry have in Tink and open banking. We look forward to supporting them on their continued journey.”
“2020 has seen payments powered by open banking take-off, and in 2021 we expect to see this scale – most prominently in the UK, followed by Europe. This funding extension and the partnership with Eurazeo Growth, Dawn Capital and our existing investors will further facilitate the development of our payment initiation services across Europe, while continuing to deliver new data-products built on open banking technology to our customers.”

EURAZEO CONTACTS
PRESS CONTACT
PIERRE BERNARDIN
HEAD OF INVESTOR RELATIONS
email: pbernardin@eurazeo.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 16 76

VIRGINIE CHRISTNACHT
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS
mail: vchristnacht@eurazeo.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 76 44

MAITLAND/amo
DAVID STURKEN
mail: dsturken@maitland.co.uk
Tel: +4444 (0)(0) 7990 5957990 595 913913

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Nordnet announces strategic review

Nordic Capital

Nordnet, a leading Nordic digital bank for investments and savings, and its owners, the Öhman Group and Nordic Capital (“the Owners”), have decided to review strategic options, including a potential listing of, Nordnet AB (publ). The objective is to provide Nordnet the best possible setting to take it to the next level of development. No decision has been taken and the market will be informed if, and when any such decision is taken.

Nordnet was listed on the Stockholm stock exchange in 1999. In 2016, the Owners made a joint recommended public cash offer for Nordnet, with a subsequent delisting. Under the private ownership, significant investments have been made in the business with the ambition to create the best-in-class platform for savings and investments, focused on market leading user-friendliness, availability, pricing, and product offering. On 24 July 2020, Nordnet announced its results for the first half of 2020 achieving record financial performance, including annual growth in customers and savings capital of 25% and 20%, respectively. At the end of the second quarter 2020, Nordnet had 1,070,000 customers across the Nordic region, with 425 BSEK in savings capital.

Lars-Åke Norling, CEO of Nordnet comments: “Our goal is to build the best platform for savings and investments. That ambition applies to both how our digital store is structured, as well as what is on the shelves. I am delighted to see that what we have achieved so far in terms of developing new digital interfaces and broadening our offering of savings products have resulted in a record-high number of private savers choosing Nordnet as their financial partner”.

Driven by the mission to democratize savings, Nordnet has a tradition of challenging old structures through innovation and providing private savers with the same tools and information as professionals. Together we have completed many of the ambitions we set out to achieve in 2016, and the time is now right to review different strategic options for Nordnet going forward, including a potential listing. As a founder and long-term owner, we look forward to continuing to take an active part in Nordnet’s exciting journey into the future”, says Tom Dinkelspiel, Chairman of the Board of Nordnet, representing the Öhman Group, Nordnet’s main owner.

Christian Frick, Partner at Nordic Capital Advisors comments: “Over the past four years, the Owners have made significant investments in Nordnet, in order to build a pan-Nordic digital platform with a world class customer experience. We are now able to see the result of this transformation, where Nordnet has reached a new level of growth in customers and savings capital and has consolidated its position as the leading digital bank in the Nordics for savings and investments”.

 

Further information please contact:

Johan Tidestad, Chief Communications Officer, Nordnet
+46 708 875 775
johan.tidestad@nordnet.se

This information is information that Nordnet AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.00 CET on 1 September 2020.

 

About Nordnet

Nordnet is a digital bank for savings and investments and we operate in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. With user-friendliness, availability, a broad offering and low prices, we give our customers the opportunity to achieve their savings ambitions. Visit us at www.nordnetab.com, www.nordnet.se, www.nordnet.no, www.nordnet.dk or www.nordnet.fi.

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Draper Esprit is pleased to participate in $33 million strategic investment round

Draper Esprit

Draper Esprit is pleased to participate in $33 million strategic investment round of Form3, the leading cloud-native payment and technology provider for banks and regulated Fintechs.

Our participation follows on from our investment in Form3’s Series B funding round in 2018. The company has since trebled in size and increased its annual recurring revenue by 160%.

Form3 is one of many Draper Esprit Fintech investments lead by partner, Vinoth Jayakumar, who focuses on the backbone and infrastructure of banking, specifically on three key areas of interest have been in fraud, payments and core banking systems.

Form3 provides real-time cloud-native end-to-end payments to combat the ever-evolving regulated payments sector, by making payments faster, easier and most cost effective for banks, Fintechs, and Fintech institutions. By removing the need to manage and focus solely on the complexities of the evolving payments infrastructure, Form3 enables banks and Fintechs to focus on building better customer propositions and growing their businesses. The company’s infrastructure significantly reduces downtime and allows for system upgrades to be achieved more seamlessly.

Working with companies like N26, Ebury, and Prepay Solutions, Form3 is helping to improve efficiency, issuing customers real bank account numbers for their clients, and decreasing the amount of time needed to complete and manage real time payments.*

Read the press release below to find out more.

*sourced from Draper Esprits Annual Results 2020

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London, August 18 2020: Draper Esprit, a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high growth digital technology businesses, today announces that it has participated in the recent $33 million strategic investment round in Form3, the leading cloud-native payment technology provider for banks and regulated Fintechs. Form3’s cloud-native, API platform delivers technical connectivity and managed services to address critical payments infrastructure challenges facing banks, building societies and Fintechs globally.

Draper Esprit’s participation follows on from its investment in Form3’s Series B funding round in 2018, since which Form3 has trebled in size and increased its annual recurring revenue by 160%. The new funding will strengthen Form3’s market leading cloud-native payment technology, build significant functional enhancements and accelerate its global expansion plans in existing and new markets.

Leading banking providers worldwide are looking to leverage technology to improve their payments infrastructure and the customer experience. Figures from McKinsey & Company show that 40-90% of banks’ workload globally could be on cloud in 10 years*.

Draper Esprit invested alongside new shareholders led by Lloyds Banking Group and including Nationwide Building Society and venture capital firm 83North.

Michael Mueller, Chief Executive Officer at Form3, commented:

“Form3 has a close relationship with Draper Esprit, having worked with them since our Series B round in 2018. For any relatively young company it is very important to work with investors who fully buy into the vision and the ambitions of the founding team. Draper Esprit saw our potential from the beginning and continue to work with us today to help us execute on our strategy and vision to become the world’s most trusted provider of cloud-native payment technology for the global financial community.”

Vinoth Jayakumar, Partner at Draper Esprit, commented:

“We are delighted to be following our investment in Form3, which has shown phenomenal growth since its last round. Form3 is a great example of the investment potential in Fintech as the digital banking revolution continues. It’s also encouraging to invest alongside banking industry players who bring significant market knowledge and commercial opportunity.”

*Bank of England, The Future of Finance, 20 June 2019.

-ENDS-

About Form3

In 2016, four banking and technology leaders set out to revolutionise the world of payments processing. Form3 has disrupted the traditional payments infrastructure model and built from scratch an award-winning, cloud-native, Payments-as-a-Service platform. Today, Form3 is trusted by some of UK and Europe’s biggest Tier1 banks and fast-growing Fintechs to handle their critical payments architecture.

Form3 has been ranked in the Top European Fintechs to watch by Sifted 2020 and Fintech 50 2019 and named as the Best Digital Innovation by Bobsguide 2019 and runner up in British Bank Awards for Best Technology Partner 2020.

About Draper Esprit

Draper Esprit is one of the most active venture capital firms in Europe, developing and investing in disruptive, high growth technology companies. We believe the best entrepreneurs in Europe are capable of building the global businesses of the future. We fuel their growth with long- term capital, access to international networks and decades of experience building businesses. Currently, Draper Esprit is a shareholder in a diverse portfolio of companies including Trustpilot, UiPath, TransferWise, and Graphcore. For more information please visit: www.draperesprit.com

Contact:

Powerscourt (public relations)

Elly Williamson: 07970 246 725

Donjeta Miftari: 07961 628 862

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Nordic Capital-backed Trustly announces strategic minority investment by a consortium of investors to support further expansion

Nordic Capital

JUNE 10 2020
Nordic Capital-backed Trustly announces strategic minority investment by a consortium of investors to support further expansion Image

BlackRock Private Equity Partners, through its private equity funds and accounts under management, together with a consortium of institutional investors, including among others, Aberdeen Standard Investments, funds managed by Neuberger Berman, Investment Corporation of Dubai and RSIC, are becoming minority shareholders in Trustly, the world’s leading online account-to-account (A2A) payments provider. Nordic Capital remains the majority shareholder in Trustly.

The transaction diversifies Trustly’s shareholder base and brings in additional long-term capital commitment to further support Trustly as it continues to invest in its products and infrastructure and expand globally.

Nordic Capital announced the acquisition of Trustly in March 2018 with the aim of supporting the expansion of the business internationally.

Oscar Berglund, CEO of Trustly, says: “At Trustly, we’re leveraging local bank-to-bank payment rails to build a global online banking payments network that enables people to pay directly from their bank accounts in a safe and convenient manner. We welcome BlackRock and the other investors as minority shareholders in Trustly. With their support, we will double-down on developing the online banking payments solution that our merchants and billers and their customers love.”

Fredrik Näslund, Partner at Nordic Capital Advisors, says: “It is a testament to Trustly’s amazing success that Nordic Capital is able to attract such a consortium of world-class investors. Nordic Capital welcomes our new partners as co-investors and looks forward to continuing a successful journey with Trustly.”

Citigroup Global Markets Limited acted as financial advisor in connection with this transaction.

Press contact:

Meredith Popolo
Head of PR & Communications at Trustly
meredith.popolo@trustly.com

 

About Trustly

Founded in 2008, Trustly is the global leader in Online Banking Payments. Our account-to-account network enables consumers to make fast, simple and secure payments to merchants directly from their online banking accounts, without going through the card networks. With support for more than 6,000 banks, over 600 million consumers across Europe and North America can pay with Trustly. We serve many of the world’s most prominent merchants within e-commerce, financial services, gaming, media, telecom and travel, which all benefit from increased consumer conversion and reduced operations, fraud and chargeback costs.

Trustly has 400 employees across Europe, the US and Latin America. We are a licensed Payment Institution under the second payment services directive (PSD2) and operate under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in Europe. In the US, we are state regulated as required to serve our target markets. Read more at www.trustly.com.

 

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and in addition, Industrials & Business Services. Key regions are Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 14 billion in over 110 investments. The Nordic Capital vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which are referred to as Nordic Capital Advisors. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com.

 

About BlackRock Private Equity Partners

BlackRock Private Equity Partners is the world’s largest asset management firm and had USD 5.98 trillion of assets under management at December 31, 2018. With approximately 14,900 employees in more than 30 countries who serve clients in over 100 countries across the globe, BlackRock provides a broad range of investment and technology services to institutional and retail clients worldwide. For further information about BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com.

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CBC Plays Leading Role in the Creation of New Scottish Business Bank

ClydeBlowersCapital

The team at Clyde Blowers Capital has been playing a prominent role in helping to launch Alba Bank, which will be a challenger bank focused on lending to SMEs across the UK regions. The bank will provide loans to SMEs in the UK through a modern digital platform and placing an emphasis on the core skills of relationship banking.

On reading the announcement in January 2017 of the decision to wind Airdrie Savings Bank (ASB) down, CBC’s Chairman and CEO, Jim McColl OBE, first met with Rod Ashley, ASB’s former CEO, to explore the possibility of retaining their banking licence but changing the strategy to focus on the UK SME banking market. Although an Act of Parliament prevented ASB to transfer their current banking license, the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) were encouraging of a new business proposal and bank application from the team.

Emboldened by the PRA’s initial feedback, CBC successfully led the seed funding to establish Alba in April 2018, while the other members of the founding team worked on a business plan to create a purpose-built SME-focused bank, to be Headquartered in Scotland and serving the UK regions.

CBC has continued to support the aspiring bank through its application process and has been hugely impressed by the progress made to date. In December 2019, Alba announced they had formally submitted their application for a banking license to the Regulator, representing an important milestone in the journey of becoming a fully licensed bank.

Jim McColl, CEO of CBC, commented:

“We believe there is a strong demand for a new purpose-built lender to SMEs in the UK, incorporating the latest technology available in the market and an emphasis on the core banking skills of the relationship manager. The bank will be focused on lending to SMEs in Scotland and the Northern Regions of the UK.

As the UK SME market continues to be affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we firmly believe Alba will play a crucial role in supporting the SME community and the wider economic recovery throughout the regions of the UK.”

Rod Ashley, CEO of Alba, added:

“The guidance and support of Jim McColl and his CBC team have been key elements in our drive to be in the strong position we find ourselves in today. We are on track to launch as a fully operational bank in 2021 and remain confident of receiving our authorisation with restrictions this Autumn. The achievement of that milestone will enable us to be known by our official name, Alba Bank.

The backing from Jim and his team will be a critical part of our work as we develop our business to be able to provide the necessary funding and support to UK-based SMEs as they strive to recover from today’s challenging climate and continue to be the backbone of the British economy.”

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Nordic Capital increases its shareholding in Norwegian Finans Holding ASA

Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital Fund IX (“Nordic Capital”) has, through its wholly owned subsidiary Cidron Xingu Limited, last night acquired 7,598,162 shares in Norwegian Finans Holding ASA (“Bank Norwegian”) from a group of sellers including Green 91 AS, a company owned by Lars Ola Kjos, at a price of NOK 35 per share. The acquisition was made to strengthen Nordic Capital’s position as the largest shareholder and following the transaction, the holding will amount to 30,646,498 shares, corresponding to 16.4% of the total shares outstanding. In total, Nordic Capital and Sampo collectively own 42,472,603 shares, corresponding to 22.7% of Bank Norwegian following the transaction.

In August 2019, Nordic Capital together with Sampo signed an agreement to become the largest shareholders in Bank Norwegian. The acquisition was completed in October 2019.

Nordic Capital has extensive experience and a strong track record in the financial services sector in the Nordic region and continues to see Bank Norwegian as an interesting company with strong growth potential.


Press contact
Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

 

About Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Core sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and Industrials & Business Services. Key regions are Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 14.5 billion in over 110 investments. The Nordic Capital vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which are referred to as Nordic Capital Advisors. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

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