Hello fintech friends,
The regular weekly newsletter starts up again next week –
But first, we've ranked the largest fintech exits of 2024.
To place in the top 10, a company had to get acquired or go public at a substantial $2.45 billion (!) valuation, a surprising number given 2024's characterization as a quiet exit market.
ServiceTitan, a software platform for trades and field services – which includes financial and payment tools for service providers – successfully priced its IPO at $71 per share on December 11th, above its revised range of $65-$67. The offering raised approximately $625 million by selling 8.8 million shares at a $6.3 billion valuation. Initially, ServiceTitan had planned a lower price range of $52-$57, but increasing demand prompted an upward revision. This marks one of the first notable tech IPOs in a few years, as the company targets a growing $1.5 trillion market of trades services across the US, Mexico, and Canada, and drives optimism that the IPO window will reopen in 2025. And as per Jevgenijs, part of ServiceTitan's revenue comes from "payment processing and third-party financing solutions". In the last four reported quarters, the company generated $685 million in revenue, of which $156 million (23%) came from "usage revenue", primarily consisting of payment and lending fees.
Publicly-listed Canadian payment processing giant Nuvei got taken private via a $6.3 billion acquisition by private equity firm Advent International.
OneStream, an enterprise software firm whose products provide financial platforms for businesses – from financial planning to forecasting to analysis – raised $490 million at a $6.2 billion valuation in its IPO, seeing its shares jump 34% in the first day of trading.
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You're Invited to our Phoenix Fintech Networking Happy Hour with Cambr and Themis!
This event is exclusive to leading executives, bankers, and industry innovators in financial services. (All guest approvals are subject to sponsor approval.)
Join us for an evening of casual conversations, refreshing drinks, and meaningful connections with fellow attendees.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona (Register to receive the full address)
Date: Monday, January 27th, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Why Attend: Foster meaningful connections and networking opportunities with peers following the Acquire or Be Acquired Conference
Register Here
Please note: All guest approvals are subject to sponsor approval
Private equity firm Bain Capital agreed to acquire publicly-traded Envestnet, a financial software vendor that counts 16 of the 20 biggest U.S. banks among its customers, for $4.5 billion. Envestnet offers software for wealth managers and data for financial institutions and investment research firms; it also is the parent company (via acquisition) of open banking provider Yodlee.
Health-care payments software company Waystar priced its IPO at the midpoint of a marketed range to raise $968 million at a market value of $3.6 billion, in one of 2024’s biggest listings so far.
Asset management giant BlackRock acquired Preqin, a provider of private markets data, for $3.2 billion as it looks to expand into alternative assets and private market investing. BlackRock plans to incorporate Preqin's data and research tools in its Aladdin portfolio-management software.
Auditboard, a risk management platform that focuses on auditing, risk, compliance, and ESG management, was acquired by software firm Hg for over $3 billion. The last round it raised was a $40 million Series B in 2018 and it recently crossed $200 million in annual recurring revenue.
Ibotta, a platform for digital spending-based rewards backed by Walmart, went public at a valuation of $2.67 billion, raising $577 million. Ibotta was founded in 2011 and previously raised $93 million through its Series D.
Credit card network Mastercard beefed-up its fraud analytics through its acquisition of anti-fraud and cybersecurity detection platform Recorded Future from private equity firm Insight Partners for $2.65 billion.
Private equity firm Veritas Capital acquired the cloud-based digital banking business of software provider NCR Voyix for $2.45 billion in up-front cash.
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Honorable Mentions
Software conglomerate Roper Technologies announced its acquisition of Transact Campus, a payments provider for universities and healthcare, for $1.5 billion. Transact provides services like payment, identification and commerce for campuses, and is expecting $325 million of revenue in 2025.
Global private equity firm Permira acquired Israeli fraud detection startup BioCatch for $1.3 billion. BioCatch reported over $100 million ARR in 2023, profitability, and 49% ARR growth. The company was founded in 2011.
Bain Capital sold UK payroll software provider Zellis Group to private equity firm Apax Partners in a deal that valued the firm at £1.25 billion.
Media giant Informa announced that it will acquire Ascential – not technically a fintech, but the owner of the Money2020 conference – for a consideration of £1.2 billion.
Technology and services provider Alight sold off its professional services and payroll businesses to an affiliate of HIG Capital, renaming it Strada. The sale was valued at $1.2 billion, in the form of upfront payment of $1 billion in cash and up to $200 million in seller notes.
Global Payments Sells off Advanced MD: Payment processor Global Payments sold off its healtcare business Advanced MD to private equity firm Francisco Partners. The business was sold for $1.13 billion off of $105 million of EBITDA. Read more.
Stripe Acquires Bridge: Stripe acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, marking a significant move in the cryptocurrency space as one of the largest tech acquisitions in this sector.
GEN, the owner of Norton and LifeLock, expanded its financial wellness offerings by acquiring MoneyLion for a price around $1 billion, integrating its technology to enhance financial services for consumers and businesses, and probably go head-to-head with platforms like Credit Karma.
