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Corporate Financier’s Notes by Aivars Jurcans
Done! And Done
Republic, a US startup investing platform, has agreed to acquire Seedrs, a UK crowdfunding business, for USD 100 million.
Source: FT
Crypto.com, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has agreed to acquire IG Group’s stakes in a US futures exchange and a binary trading group for USD 216 million.
Source: FT
Coinbase, a crypto exchange, has acquired Unbound Security, an Israeli firm which has developed ways to store and transfer crypto tokens more securely and easily. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Source: Bloomberg
Nextalia, an Italian asset management firm, has raised more than EUR 500 million in the first close of its new private equity fund which will focus on mid-market deals.
Source: Reuters
Deals On The Table
Citigroup is said to have chosen Union Bank of the Philippines as its preferred bidder to acquire its consumer banking assets in the country. The deal could value the assets at about USD 1 billion.
Source: Bloomberg
VTB, a Russian state-controlled lender, is said to be considering a possible initial public offering of Demetra, its grains business, in 3 years time. VTB owns a controlling stake in the compay.
Source: Reuters
Up-and-Comers
Griid, a bitcoin miner, is said to have agreed to go public through a merger with Adit Edtech Acquisition Corp, a SPAC, in a deal that values the combined company at about USD 3.3 billion, including debt.
Source: Bloomberg
Nubank, a Brazilian fintech, has lowered its target price range for New York IPO by about USD 9 billion – to implied market capitalisation of USD 41.5 billion. Established in 2013, Nubank has more than 48 million users across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Its revenues doubled to USD 1.06 billion in the first 9 months of 2021.
Source: FT
Wise, a payments fintech, shares are traded at a market value-to-forward sales multiple of 18x times, according to S&P Global data, which puts them ahead of the shares of Mastercard, PayPal and Square.
Source: FT
The Bank of London, a new clearing bank to be launched, has been valued at more than USD 1 billion in a fundraising round.
Source: FT
Freetrade, a UK fintech, is said to be seeking a GBP 650. million valuation in a fresh round of crowdfunding, 2x times the value it posted earlier in 2021. The company has assets of more than GBP 1 billion and is expected to bring in revenue of GBP 15 million this year.
Source: FT
Exciting Numbers
According to Chainalysis, a blockchain data provider, entities involved in illicit activity received some USD 5 billion in digital asset funds in 2020 and sent a similar amount. Those sums represent less than 1% of overall cryptocurrency flows.
Source: FT
A Thought Worth Noting
“For many people in emerging markets, mobile wallets are perhaps the first cashless instrument that they have ever used. … The non-banks are becoming the primary interface for payments [and other services] for consumers.”
Sampath Sharma Nariyanuri, fintech analyst, S&P Global Market Intelligence
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Aivars Jurcans has more than 20 years of corporate finance and investment banking experience. His services are currently available through MURINUS ADVISERS.
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