London-headquartered Fintech Farm has secured additional funding as part of its strategy to expand its operations into India.

The startup, which specializes in providing technology solutions to medium-sized banks in emerging markets to develop digital tools, has raised $32 million in funding.

This funding includes an initial Series B round led by London-based venture firm Nordstar, followed by an extension Series B round led by Bank of Georgia, listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Fintech Farm’s founding team includes Dmytro Dubilet, one of the founders of Ukrainian neobank Monobank, former KPMG M&A executive Nick Bezkrovnyy, and Alexander Vityaz, the founder of Corezoid, a cloud-based operating system provider.

Previously, the company raised a $7.4 million round in 2022 led by Flyer One Ventures and Solid, with participation from TA Ventures, Jiji, u.ventures, and AVentures Capital.

Fintech Farm, established in 2020, partners with medium-sized banks in emerging markets seeking to build neobank apps but lacking digital expertise. Dubilet explains that the startup differs from other banking-as-a-service (BaaS) players by focusing on providing operational support rather than regulatory or infrastructure services.

According to Dubilet, Fintech Farm offers comprehensive technology solutions, often referred to as ‘a neobank in a box,’ covering all the essentials for building a large and profitable digital bank.

The startup has already launched its solutions in Azerbaijan, where it partnered with a local bank to offer an app-based service to over 1 million users. In Vietnam, it collaborated with Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank to establish Liobank. Fintech Farm earns compensation based on performance, tied to the number of customers and revenues generated for its partner banks.

Fintech Farm is now focused on developing a fintech product in India, aiming to enhance consumer access to credit. Bezkrovnyy highlights India’s robust digital payment ecosystem, particularly the Unified Payments Interface, which facilitates partnerships with local banks to offer lending products.

The funding round for Fintech Farm underscores Europe’s investment trend favoring fintechs with business-to-business (B2B) models. In the first quarter of 2024, B2B fintechs received $2.1 billion in funding, nearly double the amount allocated to consumer fintechs.

Source: sifted.eu

Spanish banking giant BBVA has extended a purchase offer to Banco Sabadell’s shareholders, aiming to acquire a controlling stake of 50.01% in the company. This move follows the rejection of a similar offer by Sabadell’s board of directors last week.

Under the terms of the offer, Banco Sabadell’s shareholders would receive an exchange ratio of one newly issued BBVA share for every 4.83 Sabadell shares, representing a premium of 30% over the closing prices on April 29. The proposed transaction is valued at over $13 billion.

Despite the rejection by Sabadell’s board, BBVA remains confident in the potential of the deal to create “one of the best banks in Europe,” with a significant share of nearly 22% in the Spanish loan market. BBVA’s chair, Carlos Torres Vila, emphasizes the strategic importance of the merger, highlighting the positive impact it would have on the markets where both banks operate, particularly in Spain with an additional €5 billion loan capacity per year.

The acquisition of Banco Sabadell, Spain’s fourth-largest private banking group, would strengthen BBVA’s position in the domestic market. However, the success of the deal depends on approval from Banco Sabadell’s shareholders and regulatory bodies, including the Spanish Market and Competition Regulator (CNMC) and the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority.

Despite BBVA’s optimism, the proposed merger faces opposition from the Spanish government. Concerns have been raised by Yolanda Diaz, the country’s labor minister, and Spain’s economy minister Carlos Cuerpo, who has described the deal as “potentially damaging.” The government asserts its authority over the final decision regarding the deal’s authorization.

If approved, the deal is anticipated to close within the next six to eight months, with a subsequent technical integration process expected to take between 12 and 18 months. This latest attempt at a merger between BBVA and Banco Sabadell follows unsuccessful negotiations in 2020 due to pricing disagreements.

Source: fintechfutures.com