Ebury, a trade and foreign exchange facilitator for small and medium-sized companies, has collected £350m in an investment from Banco Santander.
Santander made the investment to continue accelerating growth through new ventures and bolster its Global Trade Services.
As part of the deal, Santander will acquire a 50.1% stake in Ebury. Of the £350m investment, £70m is new primary equity which will support the company’s plans to move into Latin America and Asia. Santander is expecting a return on invested capital higher than 25% in 2024.
Ebury will continue to operate as an independent unit supported by Santander. The FinTech will be able to leverage the bank’s capabilities, brand and correspondent bank network to establish new partnerships.
UK-based Ebury is a global distribution platform powered by a data-driven business model. Its tools include trade finance, risk management, international payments, mass payments, currency accounts, and collections.
Its suite of foreign exchange and international payments tools offer SMEs, mid-corporates, banking partners and non-banking financial institutions to improve digital operations.
Ebury, which operates in 19 countries and 140 currencies, has seen an annual revenue growth of 40% in the past three years.
In a joint statement, Ebury co-founders Juan Lobato and Salvador García said, “Combining a big bank with nimble fintech means we can offer our clients the best of both worlds: they can benefit from our technology and high-quality service safe in the knowledge that they are counterparty to one of the world most important financial institutions.
“It is an exciting time for Ebury, we have just completed our first acquisition, and the new capital from Santander and our existing shareholders will allow us to invest in new ways to serve SMEs trading internationally and continue the growth in our business while keeping our entrepreneurial culture.”
As part of the deal, Santander Brazil’s CEO Sergio Rial will join the Ebury board as chairman.
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