Exits & Deep Reads

Tariffs throw cold water on fintech thaw (TWIF 4/6)

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Stablecoins have now made it to the front page of Axios: Crypto's quiet workhorse is finally going mainstream.

Fintechs did an about-face this week, registering to go public and then potentially putting plans on hold pending market volatility sparked by the US' new tariffs. Read on below.

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below.

(👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm)

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📖 Reads of the Week

This is a good thread comparing the emergence of stablecoins to money-market funds. As always though, the devil is in the details:

1. Unliked MMFs, stablecoins have to be treated as both a store of value (and investment product) and a form of payment.

2. MMFs are 'boring' in… https://t.co/pgRqbXOs9M
— Nik (@NikMilanovic) March 30, 2025

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs & SPACs

Is fintech spring on-hold? After articles this week like The Circle IPO Solidifies 2025 As The Year Of Stablecoins, fintech giants Klarna, Circle, eToro and Chime put their IPOs on-pause over uncertainty from the Trump Admin's tariff war.
- Steve McLaughlin, of investment bank FT Partners, opined, “There’s no way on God’s green earth I would recommend any fintech company go public right now, particularly the ones on deck.” (h/t Jason Mikula)
Anyway, this week Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, filed for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRCL." The company reported revenues of $1.68 billion for 2024, an increase from $1.45 billion the previous year, while net income declined to $156 million from $268 million in 2023. This marked Circle's second attempt at going public, following a terminated $9 billion SPAC merger in 2022.
Neobank Chime hope(d) to boost growth with its new high APY account, so that the company can go public later in the year.
Soulpower Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company targeting businesses in insurance services and retirement savings, priced its upsized IPO at $220 million

Klarna IPO is the latest signal of a wider fintech recovery says Artis Partners

Klarna has announced it has officially filed to list on the New York Stock Exchange, with the IPO widely expected to raise over $1bn.

FinextraEditorial Team

🤝 M&A - Fintech

EQT, a Swedish buyout group, partnered with investor First Kraft to offer 90 kronor per share to acquire Fortnox, a cloud-based accounting software developer. This offer valued Fortnox at approximately $5.5 billion, representing a 38% premium over its previous closing price. The board of Fortnox unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer.
Rocket Companies, a major U.S. mortgage lender, announced its agreement to acquire Mr. Cooper Group, the country's largest mortgage servicer, for $9.4 billion. This acquisition aimed to transform Rocket into a comprehensive service provider for homeowners, with the combined entity servicing approximately one-sixth of all U.S. mortgages. The deal was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Peach Payments, a digital payments gateway, acquired PayDunya, a West African payment platform operating in six countries, including Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. This acquisition marked Peach Payments' entry into mainland Francophone Africa, expanding its footprint and enhancing its ability to serve businesses across 12 countries.
London-based fintech myPOS acquired UTP Group, a UK firm providing payment services such as card machines and e-commerce solutions to SMEs. This acquisition strengthened myPOS' position in the UK market.
European private equity firm Seven2 signed a binding agreement with J.C. Flowers & Co. to acquire a majority stake in HRK LUNIS, a prominent German independent wealth management platform managing over €6.6 billion in assets.
HgCapital Trust exited its investment in smartTrade, a multi-asset electronic trading solutions provider, through a deal with TA Associates, a global growth private equity firm.
French fintech company Next Generation acquired Lugh Financial Services (LFS), a digital asset service provider registered with the French regulator and previously owned by Casino Group.
UK-based digital asset exchange Archax acquired Globacap Private Markets Inc., a US SEC and FINRA regulated broker-dealer and alternative trading system. This acquisition provided Archax with a foothold in the US market, enabling it to extend its distribution and offer real-world asset products and services to US clients.
10x Banking, a core banking startup founded by former Barclays chief Antony Jenkins, initiated exploratory talks regarding a potential sale. The company engaged investment bank Moelis to advise on discussions with potential buyers.

🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ

Prospera Credit Union, Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union, and Sunshine Coast Credit Union announced their intent to merge, aiming to create Canada's largest national purpose-driven credit union. The combined entity would manage over $38.6 billion in assets, serve 730,000 members, and operate 70 branches across multiple regions.
Crédit Agricole agreed to acquire Swiss wealth manager Banque Thaler through its subsidiary Indosuez Wealth Management. This acquisition was expected to increase Indosuez's total assets under management to nearly €220 billion
Grasshopper Bancorp, Inc. completed the merger of its subsidiary, Grasshopper Bank, with Auto Club Trust, FSB, a subsidiary of The Auto Club Group. This merger positioned Grasshopper Bank as the exclusive provider of depository and lending solutions to over 13 million AAA members across 14 states.
HomeStreet agreed to a reverse merger with Mechanics Bank in an all-stock transaction. The deal valued HomeStreet's equity at $300 million and Mechanics Bank's at $3.3 billion, with the combined entity expected to enhance their market presence and financial services.
Capital One Financial received clearance from the Department of Justice for its $35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial. The deal still required approval from the Federal Reserve and the Comptroller of Currency.
Brookfield Asset Management acquired a 50.1% majority stake in mortgage specialist Angel Oak, aiming to provide its investors access to Angel Oak's residential mortgage credit business.
Cantor Fitzgerald LP agreed to acquire Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.'s U.S. wholesale market-making business. The deal was expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2025, adding approximately 30 professionals to Cantor's equity business.
Centerbridge Partners filed a lawsuit to terminate its acquisition of Oaktree Capital Management's Italian bank, Banca Progetto, citing concerns over loans linked to organized crime. Oaktree had acquired the bank a decade earlier.
Providence Equity Partners acquired Tax Systems, a global tax and accounting software provider, from Bowmark Capital. Providence's investment aimed to support Tax Systems' platform expansion and innovation in tax and regulatory compliance solutions across new geographies.
Wendel completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Monroe Capital LLC, a private credit firm managing over $20 billion in assets.
LPL Financial announced its agreement to acquire Commonwealth Financial Network for approximately $2.7 billion in cash. LPL planned to finance the transaction through a combination of corporate cash, debt, and equity, aiming to enhance its scale and capabilities in the financial advisory sector

Back in 2019 I predicted all this, as it was simple mathematics. With cost of compliance increasing 18% year on year, there was no doubt that banking would lose something. It had like 3 choices:

compliance - core protection of assets - customer service. https://t.co/BP2Hihb2FS pic.twitter.com/z8xnGZjJ10
— iang (@iang_fc) April 5, 2025