Reverse Takeover IPO Places ayondo on the Singapore Exchange

Reverse Takeover IPO Places ayondo on the Singapore Exchange

AyondoHomepageIn a $117 million (S$158 million) reverse takeover (RTO) deal, brokerage and social trading platform ayondo will be listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) after finalizing an agreement with Starland Holdings, a Singapore-based property developer.

A reverse takeover occurs when a private company acquires a public company in order to bypass the complicated IPO process. Frankfurt-based ayondo stated that it opted for a reverse takeover because of “volatility in financial markets.” The company’s press release says, “In such market conditions, an RTO provides greater certainty as key terms such as funds raised and valuation are agreed between buyer and seller, and not necessarily subject to prevailing market conditions as is always the case in an IPO. The RTO route also offers ayondo other advantages, such as lower listing costs.”

Starland anticipates the deal will help the company “expand its business in line with its diversification strategy into the fintech business” and will offer “more consistent and sustainable financial growth.” The purchase will be completed through the issuance of new shares of Starland. The finalization of the takeover is conditional, pending approval of shareholders.

AyondoDemoayondo debuts ayondo 3.0 at FinovateEurope 2013 in London

ayondo was founded in 2008 with a mission to revolutionize retail trading. The company’s brokerage platform lets users copy the moves of top traders to optimize returns. At FinovateEurope 2013, ayondo unveiled the newest version of its service, its London brokerage, and a trader career training curriculum. Last month, the company brought on Rick Fulton as CFO.

According to Singapore news site e27, ayondo is the first fintech company (and third tech company) to IPO via the SGX.

Stock Gifting Platform Stockpile Acquires SparkGift

Stock Gifting Platform Stockpile Acquires SparkGift

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Just in time to remind you of what would make a great Father’s Day gift, stock gift card company Stockpile acquired SparkGift, a startup behind a similar stock egifting idea.

Stockpile will transfer SparkGift’s customer base onto its own brokerage platform for free in the next three months. Upon transferring, SparkGift customers will receive new features, including 99-cent stock trades, an iOS app, and the ability for kids and teens to independently check their own accounts and place trades (with their moms’ and dads’ permission, of course).

Stockpile CEO Avi Lele describes SparkGift as “an innovator in personalizing and democratizing the stock market for the millennial generation” saying that the San Francisco-based startup “shares Stockpile’s mission of making investing accessible to everyone.”

Palo Alto-based Stockpile allows users to buy fractional stock shares starting at $10. In 2015 the company partnered with Blackhawk Network to offer physical gift cards in denominations of $25, $50, and $100 at select U.S. retailers.

Founded in 2010, Stockpile CEO Avi Lele and Chief Commercial Officer Dan Schatt launched the company at FinovateSpring 2014 in a demo that won Best of Show.

NYMBUS Acquires KMR to Advance Footing into Credit Union Offerings

NYMBUS Acquires KMR to Advance Footing into Credit Union Offerings

Screen Shot 2016-06-14 at 6.49.56 AMCore processing platform NYMBUS has made its second acquisition in the past two weeks. The Florida-based company has purchased credit union software provider KMR in an effort to expand its geographic footprint, product offerings, and client base.

With this move, NYMBUS inherits KMR’s key products, AgilityWeb, a full-featured home banking solution, and AgilityOrg, a management and compliance tool set.

Joining the NYMBUS leadership team is Kai Ravnborg, former president of KMR and creator of the first PC-based credit union core system and the first Windows-based credit union core application. Ravnborg, who says the decision to join NYMBUS was a “no-brainer,” will serve as chief product officer for CUNYMBUS, a collaborative credit union service organization NYMBUS launched in March.

Founded in 2015, NYMBUS seeks to revolutionize the core processing industry to help small financial institutions gain a competitive edge against big banks by offering a core solution with all digital channels and payments. The company, which demonstrated at FinovateSpring 2016 and presented at FinDEVr New York 2016, acquired data processing solutions provider R. C. Olmstead earlier this month.

NYMBUS Acquires R. C. Olmstead to Enhance Core Data Processing

NYMBUS Acquires R. C. Olmstead to Enhance Core Data Processing

NYMBUSHomepage

Core processing solution NYMBUS today added to its repertoire with the acquisition of  R. C. Olmstead (RCO), a core data processing solutions provider.

Negotiations of the acquisition, which closed in March, began in the fall of 2015. As part of the deal, the Miami-based company will bring on RCO’s client base of 46 Midwest-based credit unions. NYMBUS has also acquired some of RCO’s talent, including “the team responsible for RCO’s conversions and implementations, as well as other RCO team members.”

RCO’s Founder Bob Olmstead, who launched the company in 1978, said the sale will both allow him to retire and help RCO to “not only survive, but be given the best chance to thrive in a continually changing and rapidly evolving marketplace.” Olmstead said the move assures him that RCO will “remain focused on its vision of marrying superior customer service with a cutting-edge, forward-facing product I feel will grow into the industry standard.”

NYMBUS CEO Alex Lopatine said the experience of combining the two companies has been “seamless” and “positive.”

NYMBUS debuted its modern approach to core processing at FinovateSpring 2016. Mario Garcia, the company’s chief experience officer, demonstrated how its bank-in-a-box offers a full-stack banking platform to help smaller financial institutions gain a competitive edge against big banks.

Launched in 2015, NYMBUS has accumulated $12 million in self-funded investment from company stakeholders and received $10 million in funding from outside investors. The company employs 60 people across the United States and counts 130 financial institutions as clients (including those from RCO).

Ping Identity Acquired by Vista Equity Partners

Ping Identity Acquired by Vista Equity Partners

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Colorado-based Ping Identity, a cloud identity security solutions provider, announced today it has been acquired by Vista Equity Partners. The terms were not disclosed for the deal which is expected to close in Q3 of this year.

Austin-based Vista Equity Partners has almost $8 billion in capital commitments, partnering with firms in software and technology-enabled businesses. Founded in 2000, the firm has acquired four companies, including Ping.

The acquisition is anticipated to help Ping Identity accelerate the growth of its security solutions through acquisitions and to boost investment in its Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) capabilities. Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand says it’s “a great day for Ping Identity” and added that the acquisition “validates what we’ve built: the leading Identity and Access Management platform.”

In the press release, Ping Identity noted a few metrics:

  • Annual recurring revenue grew by 40% in 2015
  • Annual recurring revenue is expected to reach more than $100 million in 2016
  • Clients include 1,500 global enterprises, including over half of the Fortune 100

PingIDDemoIn February, the company launched enhancements for Ping Federate, an omnichannel authentication and access management solution that uses multifactor authentication, single sign on, and limited access security.

Founded in 2003, Ping Identity took the stage at FinovateEurope 2012. The demo showed how banks can increase conversion rates and reuse existing infrastructure by implementing social networking logins. The company has raised a total of $128 million in funding and counts Draper Fisher Jurvetson, General Catalyst Partners, and Silicon Valley Bank among its investors.

Nexmo Acquired by Vonage for $230 Million

Nexmo Acquired by Vonage for $230 Million

NexmoHomepage

Cloud communications startup Nexmo is now Nexmo, a Vonage company, after being acquired by communications giant Vonage for $230 million.

The company’s CEO Tony Jamous is now president of the newly acquired entity. CTO Eric Nadalin and Nexmo’s 170-person team are also moving over to Vonage.

Nexmo brings 350 enterprise customers from across the globe, which marks Vonage’s first expansion outside of the United States.

Vonage CEO Alan Masarek comments on the acquisition, “By combining Vonage’s rapidly growing, unified communications-as-a-service business with Nexmo, we are creating the future of cloud communications. These companies represent a set of strategic, technology and human resources assets that deliver the broadest services offering in our industry.”

Nexmo demoed its Verify SDK at FinovateEurope 2016 and presented on using the crowd to decrease fraud at FinDEVr New York 2016.

SumUp Announces Merger with Payleven

SumUp Announces Merger with Payleven

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The merger between mPOS innovators SumUp and payleven announced this week will create a new giant in the industry that processes more than €1 billion a year in 15 countries.

Founder and CEO of SumUp Daniel Klein called the deal a “game-changer for the mobile payments industry” and a major move toward his vision of building the “first ever global card acceptance brand.” payleven co-founder Konstantin Wolff referred to SumUP and payleven as “two complimentary teams sharing the same vision” and said the merger would produce a company that is “larger and more powerful than the sum of its parts.” The combined entity will operate as SumUp.

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Pictured (left to right): Stefan Jeschonnek, CMO and co-founder, and Florian Richter, country manager, U.K., demonstrated SumUp at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

SumUp’s proprietary end-to-end EMV technology, hardware terminal, and mobile apps enable merchants to accept both credit and debit card transactions with a smartphone or tablet. Certification with Europay, MasterCard, and Visa ensures a high level of payment security and has enabled the company to serve merchants in 15 countries such as Brazil, Sweden and, as of last October, the U.S. SumUp’s investors include American Express, BBVA Ventures, Groupon, Venture Incubator AG—all participants of the company’s most recent fundraising last August. Founded in August 2011 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, SumUp demonstrated its technology at FinovateEurope 2013.

payleven’s Bluetooth-powered card readers help SMEs process credit and debit card payments. Founded in 2012, the Berlin-based company raised more than $25 million in funding, including a $10 million Series D round in February.

TIO Networks Closes Purchase of Softgate Systems

TIO Networks Closes Purchase of Softgate Systems

TIOHomepage

Cloud-based bill payment processor TIO Networks today announced it closed on the acquisition of Softgate Systems. The acquisition of the New Jersey-based bill payment services provider makes TIO the largest walk-in bill payment network in North America.

In a press release, TIO CEO Hamed Shahbazi says the deal “provides a unique opportunity for TIO to scale its business substantially and represents an important corporate milestone as we continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our customers.” He continues, “TIO has enjoyed an eight-year relationship with Softgate. …We expect to be able to expand and extend services towards our customer base across North America, with a strong focus on servicing the underbanked and unbanked population.”

Along with the news, TIO cited recent metrics about the combined companies:

  • The two generated 12-month historical revenues of more than $83 million (CAD$105 million)
  • In the last year, the two processed  about 80 million consumer transactions worth over $9 billion
  • The addition of Softgate adds $5 million in incremental EBITDA per year (providing TIO with $30 million in net operating losses)
  • TIO’s geographical footprint has expanded from 15 U.S. states to 46 states.

The financial terms of the deal, for which TIO secured a $5.7 million loan, were divided into three aspects:

  1. $4.6 million in cash
  2. 25 million TIO Network shares issued to Softgate shareholders
  3. $4 million issuance in vendor take-back promissory notes

TIO was founded in 1997 under the name Infotouch Technologies. At FinovateSpring 2012, the company launched TIO Mobile Pay, a mobile app that empowers consumers by allowing them to pay telecom, utility, financial services, and insurance bills using their Visa or MasterCard credit cards, or their debit card. Since then, the Vancouver, B.C.-based company garnered $1.7 million through the issuance of a secondary stock offering, and was awarded second place in the top-10 companies on the 2016 TSX Venture 50. It was also named one of Canada’s 20 hottest and most innovative public tech companies.

Ally Financial Acquires TradeKing for $275 Million

Ally Financial Acquires TradeKing for $275 Million

TradeKingHomepage

TradeKingan online brokerage firm that prides itself on straightforward, low pricing, has been acquired by Detroit-based Ally Financial (NYSE: ALLY), a publicly traded financial services company primarily known for auto-lending. The purchase price paid in cash is $275 million.

Ally is purchasing the Florida-based company for its online broker/dealer, digital portfolio-management platform; educational content; and social collaboration channels. According the the Wall Street Journal, the acquisition will serve as a stepping stone to help Ally expand its services into wealth management, mortgages, and credit cards. Ally CEO Jeffrey Brown says, “The addition of wealth management is the next key step in Ally’s digital product evolution and will create a powerful combination of segment-leading direct banking and innovative investment services in a single integrated customer experience.”

The deal is expected to close in Q3 of this year. Once it does, TradeKing’s 180 employees will join Ally Financial. TradeKing, with $4.5 billion in assets under management, will operate under the branding of Ally Financial.

In the early days of Finovate, TradeKing presented the TradeKing Community at FinovateSpring 2008TradeKing Community is one of the first brokerages to create a social network that enables investors to share their online trades with others.

BBVA Acquires Holvi for Undisclosed Sum

BBVA Acquires Holvi for Undisclosed Sum

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Described by Wired magazine as one of the “hottest startups in Finland,” Holvi has just been acquired by Spanish bank BBVA, a fellow Finovate alum.

“We’re excited about Holvi as we share a vision about the benefit of technology for the customer,” BBVA’s Teppo Paavola said. Paavola, chief development officer and GM of new digital business for BBVA, also praised the way Holvi leveraged technology “to bring a new approach to small business banking, where services essential to a business’s future, such as invoicing, are built into their core offer.”

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Pictured: Holvi co-founder Tuomas Toivonen demonstrating his company’s platform at FinovateEurope 2013 in London.

“We found the ideal owner in BBVA,” Holvi CEO Johan Lorenzen added in a statement on the Holvi blog. “A bank with the understanding of the digital world to give us the necessary room to grow, and then the scale and expertise to underpin that growth with sound foundations.”

Terms of the acquisition were not immediately available.

Calling itself “Banking for Makers and Doers,” Holvi provides SMEs, freelancers, and entrepreneurs with a business current account that features its own international bank account number (IBAN), as well as a suite of banking, accounting, and invoicing tools to make it easier to manage company finances. Holvi accounts provide automatic financial statements, including a real-time update of VAT balance, and can be used to send invoices and even set up an online store. As of April 2016, Holvi customers in Germany, Austria, and Finland will also get access to a Holvi Business MasterCard.

Last December, Holvi was featured in TheNextWeb’s look at “10 Finnish startups to watch in 2016.” That same month, Let’s Talk Payments included Holvi in a roundup of top Nordic fintech startups. Business Insider also recognized the company last fall, naming it among the “12 hottest” fintech startups in the region. And in September, Holvi launched its Supercharge feature to make it easier for customers to add money to their Holvi accounts.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Holvi demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2013. The company is an authorized payment institution licensed and regulated by FIN-FSA (the Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland.)

 

United Capital Acquires FlexScore

United Capital Acquires FlexScore

FlexScoreHomepage

FlexScore, a platform that gamifies financial planning, was purchased by California-based advisory firm United Capital this week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

United Capital, which holds $15 billion in assets under management, plans to use FlexScore as a tool to help its advisers engage clients.

The FlexScore platform assesses and scores the user’s financial health and assigns action steps (as seen below) to improve their score. The goal is to reach a top score of 1000, which signifies financial independence.

flexscoremystepsUnited Capital CEO Joe Duran commented to Investment News that FlexScore fits the “missing piece” from the company’s digital suite for clients and advisers. Additionally, Duran stated, “The right intersection is not technology alone, or people alone, but when you have an interactive engaging experience that is powered by people.”

In the future, Duran plans to implement the scoring tool within retirement plans to stimulate engagement. The company is in talks with potential partners for this use case.

United Capital began its relationship with FlexScore in 2014 when it purchased FlexScore’s parent company, Valley Wealth, in a deal that excluded FlexScore.

FlexScore co-founders Jason Gordo and Jeff Burrow launched the startup at FinovateSpring 2013. Since then the San Francisco-based company has raised $4.7 million and created a mobile version of the app (launched at FinovateFall 2014 in New York).

BluePay Acquires Billhighway

BluePay Acquires Billhighway

Billhighway_homepage_Feb2016

Billhighway, developer of cloud-based financial management solutions for non-profit and member-based organizations, has been acquired by card processor and gateway provider, BluePay.

John Rante, BluePay CEO, highlighted Billhighway’s “innovative technology, a strong annual growth rate, and incredible customer satisfaction.” Rante said Billhighway’s nonprofit vertical was a “great fit” for BluePay and sees the acquisition as an opportunity to grow BluePay’s integrated merchant base.

Billhighway Chairman and Founder Vince Thomas added that the merger will help “improve the level of products and services” the company provides its member-based association and not-for-profit clients.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The announcement comes less than a month after Billhighway was again recognized as one of the “Best and Brightest” companies to work for. Billhighway offers a range of products, from its enterprise-grade financial management platform to its prepaid card (which won the “Head of the Class” PayBefore Award in 2014), to the mobile-fundraising solution the company demoed at FinovateFall 2012.

Last fall, Billhighway earned a spot on Deloittes 2015 Technology Fast 500 for North America for the third year in a row. That summer, the company adopted the SnapApp platform to enable development and publishing of interactive content. In March, Billhighway picked up a Silver Stevie Award for Innovation in Customer Service in the Financial Services Industry category, its second win at the Stevies since 2013.

Founded in 1999, Billhighway is headquartered in Troy, Michigan.