UBS and Wealthfront have mutually agreed to terminate their merger deal and instead, UBS has purchased a $69.7m note convertible into the WealthTech’s shares.
At the start of the year, UBS had announced the merger with Wealthfront in a $1.4bn all-cash deal. This move was aimed at helping UBS accelerate its growth ambitions in the US, extend its reach among affluent investors and expand its distribution and capabilities.
The companies did not offer a reason as to why they terminated the merger.
In a statement announcing the end of the deal, UBS said it remains committed to its growth plans in the US and will continue the build-out of its digital wealth management offering.
This is not the first time UBS has had second thoughts about a digital wealth management platform.
In 2018, the firm closed down SmartWealth, its own digital wealth management platform. In a statement at the time UBS said while it was “satisfied” with the commercial progress of the service, “at this time we believe the near-term potential is limited and have therefore decided to close our digital-only offering in the UK.”
There have been a number of other major FinTech acquisitions in 2022. US-based SoFi Technologies, which offers banking and personal finance services, is acquiring banking software developer Technisys in a $1.1bn deal. Similarly, Global Payments, which develops global payment technology, recently announced plans to acquire fellow PayTech solution developer Evo, in a $4bn deal.
See some of the other big acquisitions here.
Copyright © 2022 FinTech Global
